Blind singers in tune with society

Pleasure, friendship

The band brightens the members' lives, and gives them musical pleasure and friendship. Most of them are unmarried, but they consider each other as family. They live in adjacent dormitories, with a canteen and rehearsal room nearby.

Li Yanbin, one of the two female members, had eye surgery many years ago that extended her vision. During that period, she sold shoes, worked at a supermarket and learned massage, but she quit as overwork would accelerate the deterioration of her vision.

She joined the band in 2017 as she loves singing, despite a lack of professional training.

However, one morning in 2020, when she woke and discovered she couldn't see the text on her phone, she calmly accepted that her sight had gone.

"It was like the 'snowflake screen' on TV and I could only feel the light, but now I have even lost that," the 30-year-old said.

"Knowing I would lose my sight was a huge blow. My father blames himself for not spotting the problem earlier, so I have to hide my sadness so as not to affect my family," she said. "I would have felt even worse if I hadn't joined the group. The other members, who have not been able to see since childhood, gave me a lot of comfort and encouragement, so when the fateful day came I accepted it peacefully."

When she could still see a little, Li often took Chen Jincan, her best friend in the band, to walk on the lawn in front of their residential building and enjoy the sunset. She also helped the other members.

But since she lost her sight and has difficulty adapting to walking in darkness, she has to take Chen's hands to go downstairs and to the canteen.

"I was their 'eyes', but now they are my 'stick'," she said. She has also developed the habit of speaking the lines of TV programs out loud with Chen.

Although she can't see, Li maintains a sense of ritual: she wears clothes in her favorite color and sweeps every corner of her room, even though she can't see where it's dirty. She had a manicure during Spring Festival and got her nails painted with rabbit patterns to usher in the Year of the Rabbit.

Zheng Xuan, the other female member, has some vision in her right eye. The 20-something can see her phone by holding it up close, so when the band is livestreaming she reads netizens' messages to the other members.

With her eyesight deteriorating, the other members have helped her learn to use screen-reading software to prepare for the day when her vision goes completely.

Though Zhu Weixian, the band's deputy leader, has normal vision, one of his legs is crippled due to polio. He takes care of the band's daily routines, including costumes and travel.