Famous Chinese singer Guo Lanying died at the age of 98.

Chinese singer and opera actress Guo Lanying died at the age of 97 from an illness. This was reported on August 12 by Xinhua news agency with reference to the press service of the Chinese National Opera and Dance Theater.

"Guo Lanying, an outstanding member of the Chinese Communist Party, holder of the honorary title of People's Artist <...> died in Guangzhou on August 11 <...> from illness," the publication says.

Guo Lanying's creative career lasted for more than half a century. In her art, she combined traditional Bangzi opera, new national opera and folk song. The singer's voice has become an integral part of the cultural history of China, and the scale of her personality in the country's memory is comparable to the figures of Lyudmila Zykina or Lyudmila Gurchenko for the Soviet era.

One of Guo Lanying's most famous works was the song "My Homeland", written in the mid-1950s for the film "The Battle of Shanganling Mountain" about the Korean War. The artist's performance is considered canonical, and the composition itself has become one of the most recognizable patriotic symbols of China.