Children’s Choir Delights Melania Trump and China’s First Lady Peng Liyuan

First Lady Melania Trump and Madame Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, visited the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art on Thursday in a cultural moment highlighting ties between the United States and China.

Following the White House welcoming ceremony for President Xi, the two first spouses toured the museum’s famed Peacock Room, an ornate space featuring an extensive display of blue-and-white Qing dynasty porcelain dating from 1644 to 1911.

They stopped to study James McNeill Whistler’s celebrated painting Princess from the Land of Porcelain as museum curators outlined the artwork’s history and meaning.

Body language specialist Judi James told the Daily Mail that both women appeared captivated by the richly decorated surroundings, conveying a shared sense of wonder as they took in the collection.

The figure in the painting was modeled by Christina Spartali, a young woman of Greek heritage shown wearing a kimono and holding a fan.

According to the museum, Whistler’s composition draws heavily on Asian artistic traditions, including Japanese ukiyo-e prints and decorative imagery found on Chinese porcelain, according to the museum.

Melania Trump opted for a black, single-breasted lightweight tweed jacket and matching skirt by Alexander McQueen, completing the look with black Christian Louboutin stilettos.

Madame Peng chose a navy blue cheongsam featuring a high Mandarin collar, accented by a single silver brooch shaped like a flower.

“Melania’s sharply tailored black suit, including its jacket with side buttons, is almost a precise match for Madame Peng’s style, apart from some white piping,” James told the Daily Mail. “The pair also walked and posed in remarkably similar ways, much as they had while seated during President Trump’s speech.”

James said Melania’s visual similarities with Peng could reflect admiration and respect for the Chinese first lady, who was once a renowned opera singer and held the rank of major general in the People’s Liberation Army.

The Peacock Room combines vivid blue, green and gold detailing, with another Whistler work—an image of two peacocks locked in combat—taking center stage on the main wall. The scene represents a conflict between “Art and Money.”

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Architect Thomas Jeckyll created the room, while Whistler completed its painted decoration during the 1870s for Frederick R. Leyland, an English shipping magnate.

Art collector Charles Lang Freer later purchased the collection, which ultimately became part of the Smithsonian in 1920.

The visit continued with a private tour of Gallery 13, where the pair viewed imperial and historic Chinese artworks connected to the governing traditions of dynasties from 1368 through 1912.

Melania Trump and Peng then watched local students from the Hope Chinese School perform as members of the children’s choir waved Chinese and American flags.

The 36-member choir, conducted by its director, performed two songs: “Jasmine Flower” and Songs & Smiles.

At one point, Madame Peng, who is a famous opera singer in China, sang along with the songs and clapped her hands.  

The First Lady smiled at Madame Peng during the performance and applauded and said, “Bravo!” after each song. 

Trump and Peng are familiar with each other after they first met in April 2017 at the president’s club at Mar-a-Lago.

In November 2017, Melania Trump joined the president for his state visit to Beijing, and the pair toured the Forbidden City and visited a primary school together.

The first lady, however, did not go on the president’s official visit to Beijing in May 2026.