Villagers in north China's Shanxi Province are learning about HIV and AIDS in an entertaining way. Local disease control and prevention centers have organized a program to spread information to villagers through stage performances.

The mobile stage is mounted on a truck, and visits local markets to take the message directly where it is most needed.

The shows are not only entertaining, but aim to spread knowledge of AIDS prevention and treatment. A man in the audience spoke correctly and clearly of the three transmission methods for HIV/AIDS. It seems the show's message may be getting across.

A playwright said: "We write these short plays to teach people about AIDS, and how to prevent it. We have to make them easy to understand for villagers."

This new style of AIDS education is becoming popular in many counties across the province, which serves as a pilot zone for the HIV/AIDS campaign. So far, nearly 200,000 villagers have seen the shows.

(CCTV.com November 25, 2004)