In 1937, the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War in Wusong and Shanghai caused the Yuhua School to close. Its students and teachers had to flee and seek refuge. Some of the members of the school choir reunited in the place of refuge.  Under the leadership of teacher Fang Xiuzhong, a Communist Party member, they walked out on to the streets and into the factories, singing patriotic songs and creating dramas to advocate anti-Japanese sentiment. The Children’s Theatre Company was born out of the fire of war. After the Japanese enemy occupied Shanghai, the Children’s Theatre Company left the city for the inland region at the request of the Communist Party. They played and sang to awaken the public sentiment against the Japanese along the way and eventually the Company grew up in wartime.