Ji told Xinhua some 400 children like Liu had studied in the school, including foreign children. Six-year-old Li Yitang, whose father is a Danish investor in Beijing, said he liked learning Chinese characters as much as watching animated theatrical shorts.

And, Ji's school is expanding with classes on weekdays because more and more kids are coming for the lessons. Schools like Ji's are sprouting up everywhere in the country as people realize traditional culture will help their children grow more talented.

Shanghai girl Wang Xinyu, 6, enjoys dancing to English songs like "The Sound of Music." She also rejoices in reading poems of Li Bai(701-762), a great poet in Tang Dynasty.

"I listen to English songs for a while, and then shift to Li Bai's poems," She said. "It's fun."

"Although we know that she might not quite understand what she is listening and reading, we are delighted she enjoys them," said the mother Wang Yuanhong.

Zhang Yiwu, a professor of Peking University, said it was natural for the Chinese children and teenagers to enjoy the ancient classics as well as the popular culture from the western countries.

"The works, like 'San Zijing' and Andersen's stories, are interesting in nature and filled with the shared value of life," he said.

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