The Fourth Migrant Workers' Spring Festival Gala took place on February 1 at the Nine Theater located in the heart of Beijing's bustling Chaoyang District. The gala played host to a selection of acts that ran the entire gamut of the performing arts, from singing, dancing and crosstalk to comedic sketches and poetry reading. The gala also highlighted key cases related to the protection of migrant workers' rights in 2014 and attempted to call public attention to issues concerning this vital yet underprivileged group.

HEARTRENDING: Ding Li (second left) sheds tears following a recitation of the poem Beijing, I Have Come by migrant workers' children while hosting the gala along with Cui Yongyuan (right) and Wang Fuju (left)

STEP UP PRODUCTION: A hip-hop dance troupe made up of factory workers from Dongguan, south China's Guangdong Province, delivers a performance

HOMESICK: With students from the Tongxin Experimental Primary School, NGO worker Li Xiangyang sings the song Missing, a paean to the longing for loved ones experienced by rural children whose parents work in cities

MINING A RICH ARTISTIC VEIN: Miner and amateur poet Lao Jing gives a reading of his poem

LIFE IMITATING ART: Two migrant workers stage a comedy skit in which they assume their respective real-life roles of chef and security guard