A charity concert was staged recently at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing to raise public awareness of ear health, as the 13th national Ear Care Day fell on March 3.

The first Ear Care Day was initiated on March 3, 2000, by nine national government departments, including the China Disabled Person's Federation, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education.

These departments have since staged events every year in March to promote hearing protection.

The theme of this year's Ear Care Day is "noise reduction and hearing conservation". The charity concert was hosted by China Rehabilitation and Research Center for Deaf Children.