Singer's 'love letter' to city goes viral online

Yin Minzhucheng, a 24-year-old singer from Chengdu, has gone viral on the Chinese internet thanks to his catchy song Stay With You, which the singer says is actually a "love letter" to Chengdu.

In recent years, Chengdu has become a cradle for young music lovers thanks to its inclusive environment, music-friendly atmosphere and solid industrial foundation.

"As soon as I arrived in Chengdu, I fell in love with the city," Yin said. As one of his songs' lyrics says, "The air is full of love and the lovers are filled with laughter".

Growing up in Yunnan province, Yin loved music since childhood. He chose Chengdu as the place to achieve his musical dreams after graduating from university.

Over the past two years, he has grown into a mature independent musician through participating in original music competitions, writing lyrics and songs, busking and taking part in music-themed activities.

In September, Yin held his first solo concert in Chengdu, where he sang a lot of his original songs including Stay With You. Yin plans to embark on a national tour, in which he hopes more people will fall in love with Chengdu through his songs.

Yin is a member of the Star Nest Plan, an independent music commune. In 2017, Xu Xiaofeng, a big player in Chinese original music, set up the music commune in Chengdu, with the aim of supporting Chinese original musicians in the city.

"The solo debut from Yin is a result of him joining Star Nest Plan," Xu said, adding that by integrating resources, they are incubating a group of independent musicians like Yin.

Peter Chen, a popular musician who also set up a music workshop in Chengdu in July said: "Chengdu citizens are not only gentle and elegant, but also have the passion to create new things. Chengdu is a city with creativity and a vibrant atmosphere, which is very suitable for music."

Over the years, a large number of outstanding musical professionals have sprung from Chengdu. Besides popular performers such as Li Yuchun and Zhang Liangying, singers such as Liao Changyong and Fan Jingma, composers Gao Weijie and He Xuntian, and violinist Ning Feng are all from Chengdu.

"Both musicians and music organizations are working to make Chengdu the highland for music development," said Hong Qi, head of the Chengdu office of the Music Industry Promotion Committee of the China Audio Digital Association.