The opera Dream High in Aerospace, staged by the performing-arts company of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, sheds new light on the lives of test pilots. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Liu Hegang, a 38-year-old tenor, joined the Performing Arts Company in 2001 and rose to fame after performing in CCTV's Spring Festival Gala in 2003. He says that it's the first time he will act in an opera.

During his stay at China Flight Test Establishment, Liu says, he asked one of the pilots, why he wasn't working for an airline company and making the big bucks.

To which the pilot, Liu says, replied that he was living his dream rather than just doing a job.

"I think that their loyalty to the country and to their careers deserve to be known by more people," the tenor says.

In the past decade, the PLA Air Force has developed fast. All the aircraft displayed during the Victory Parade on Sept 3 were tested by the pilots of China Flight Test Establishment, he adds.

If you go

7:30 pm, Wednesday and Thursday. PLA Theater, 60 Deshengmennei Street, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6613-1718.