Jose Carreras, one of the world's Three Tenors, will sing in Chinese during a Olympics-themed performance on Friday in Xi'an.

The tenor said he would sing "Story of the Remote Grassland" in Chinese. "It is the best way to convey the real meaning of the well-known romantic Chinese folk song to the audience," he said.

As part of another Olympics promotion drive, the concert, entitled "Splendid Ceremony in Xi'an", will be staged on Friday and Saturday in the ruins of Daming Palace, the ruling center of the Tang Dynasty 1,100 years ago.

Carreras will also perform other classic songs, including arias from operas by Giacomo Puccini and Giuseppe Verdi.

According to local tourism officials, Xi'an is expected to be a popular tourist destination during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and 2010 Shanghai Expo.

Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo performed in 2001 at Beijing's revered Forbidden Palace to boost its bid for the 2008 Olympics.

(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2006)