Since the reunion of Hong Kong and china in 1997, Hong Kong has changed its national anthem, education and language policy accordingly. This sovereignty transfer has manifestly brought changes at every aspect of local society, which undoubtedly reflects on the content and design of school curricula. As Putonghua, i.e. The official language in mainland china, has been taught in schools for sixteen years as an important measure to enhance the appreciation and understanding of Chinese cultural heritage and to endorse national identity, Putonghua songs ranging from the Chinese folk songs and the national anthem, to the popular song, Chinghuatze (written by the Taiwanese singer songwriter, Jay Chou), have become an indispensable music learning experience for many Hong Kong students. Integrating Putonghua songs into the general music curricula is part of the education and language policy in Hong Kong schools, how to construct and deliver an innovative and feasible Putonghua music curriculum to be enjoyed by music educators and learners becomes a major challenge and necessary undertaking. This project investigated the phenomenon of the learning and teaching of Putonghua songs in Hong Kong schools since the change of sovereignty in 1997. the principal investigator intended to study the current perception and impact of using Putonghua songs as part of the music curricula in facilitating the understanding and appreciation of Chinese cultural traditions by surveying 400 undergraduate and postgraduate music students (i.e. Potential future music educators in Hong Kong) followed by semi-guided interview sessions with some of those subjects. The perception and viewpoints of future music educators towards Putonghua songs were carefully examined and discussed in order to understand the challenges of the learning and teaching of Putonghua songs in the context of enhancing Chinese cultural exposure, values education and national identity in light of post-colonisation in current Hong
