Popular mandate

Zhu is happy also because it is one of the biggest international awards for a Chinese radio program.

Hit FM Music Awards, the bilingual show that Zhu co-launched in 2008 is a year-end radio program highlighting Western pop hits of a year. The show presents awards in 11 categories. Following the same format of many Western pop music award shows, the CRI program has become a much-anticipated radio event among lovers of Western music in China in the past decade.

On the show, Zhu interviews foreign and Chinese artists, and connects with listeners in China.

Over 1 million listeners tuned into the Hit FM Music Awards program in 2020.

Today, there are many social media platforms that allow audiences to enjoy different kinds of music and enable musicians to communicate with their fans from all over the world.

In 2003, things were different. With limited sources to enjoy Western pop music, Chinese music lovers tuned into Hit FM to get the latest information on Western hits and pop musicians. The program brought a sense of freshness to listeners then and continues to serve as a link between music lovers in China and Western pop, Zhu says.

A Beijing native, Zhu, joined as an intern for CRI's bilingual radio program, Easy FM, in 2002. It gave him the opportunity to learn about radio and start a career. Though he was not trained to become a radio host, Zhu impressed audiences not only with his voice, but also his knowledge of Western pop.