Video game CS:GO introduces first music kit in Chinese to celebrate 5th anniversary

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) has added Chinese Qinqiang Opera-style "Hua Lian" (Painted Face) to its list of music kits on Sept. 14, 2022. (Photo from official website of CS:GO)

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), a multiplayer first-person shooter video game, has added Chinese Qinqiang Opera-style "Hua Lian" (Painted Face), a theme song released by CS:GO's operator in China to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the game's launch in China, to its list of music kits on Sept. 14, reported Culture and Art Weekly, a newspaper based in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

As the first ever music kit in Chinese to be included in CS: GO's list of music kits, the release of the song, featuring a combination of rock music and Qinqiang Opera, a national-level intangible cultural heritage of China, as well as a Chinese folk opera genre, enjoys great popularity in Shaanxi Province.

It's believed that the song has knocked down cultural and language barriers, opening a door for global players to listen to the spirit of the Chinese people. In addition to the exciting immersive experience of enjoying this Chinese cultural treasure, the sense of energy and strength conveyed by the song also strikes a responsive chord in the hearts of players around the world.

The song was jointly created by eminent figures in China's cultural and art sectors. The lyrics were written by Xue Baoqin, a famous poet and cultural scholar; the lead singer of the song is Zhao Yangwu, winner of the China Theatre Plum Blossom Award; and the melody of the song was co-composed by Luo Xinchang, a national first-class instrumentalist in China and art director of the youth league of the Shaanxi Opera Research Institute, and outstanding young composer Zhu Hongliang.