Music serves as bridge for China-Britain cultural exchanges

The band performed in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province. [File photo]

The band members are often invited by British schools to encourage students who are learning Chinese and to share their stories of the Chinese mainland.

One of their most renowned mandarin songs, Sorry My Chinese Isn't So Good, is well-known in Britain. Their YouTube videos has received more than one million hits, and has been sung by thousands of students learning Chinese.

Another young man, Shaun Gibson, became a celebrity last year after making the English version of the famous Chinese song Xiao Ping Guo or Little Apple.

He recreated the music video, playing the Monk Xuanzang and sang in both English and Chinese.

He said he visited several cities on the Chinese mainland last year, when Xiao Ping Guo came out and grew massively popular in the music scene.

Different from the experience of Transition, Gibson didn't specifically learn Chinese. The 24-year-old man just graduated in music from the University of Liverpool.

He said he started taking a liking to Chinese music after his Chinese friends introduced him to karaoke in Liverpool. Gibson was charmed by Chinese music and couldn't wait to explore more on the internet.

The first song he rewrote into English was Tian Shi De Chi Bang, An Angel's Wing. And the first Chinese song he sang was Ai Wo Bie Zou, or Love Me Don't Go.

"Chinese culture is something I really love, so is music. When I make, or translate, or sing, or talk about Chinese songs, it's because I love it," he said.

"It's really nice that British people can appreciate such music even though they don't understand it. And that's the same way that I approached it, that the more I've learnt the more I'm interested in learning more," Gibson added.

In a Chinese singing competition held in Manchester on June 7, Gibson won the best performance award. "I hope more competitions like this are held in Britain, and I hope I can share Chinese music with more Britons," he said.

"An increasing number of British people are learning the Chinese language and Chinese culture. Many British young people like to sing Chinese songs when studying the language," said Li Yongsheng, Consul General of Chinese Consulate General in Manchester, which organized the competition.

"Music has no borders, and the singing competition can build a bridge of people-to-people exchange in the form of music, which is loved by everyone," he added.