Han Hong

Han Hong [Photo: sohu.com]

Han Hong is a versatile female musician who earned her place on the Mando-pop scene through her distinctive vocal and creative talents. She is not only blessed with a great soprano voice, but is also a very successful songwriter. This Sunday, Han Hong will hold her solo concert in Beijing. So on today's China Beat, we will introduce to you this talented singer and musician and revisit some of her classic songs.

"Hometown" is the song that made thousands of Chinese music lovers familiar with the name of Han Hong. The song comes from her first album, "Rays over the Snowcapped Plateau," released in 1997. Featuring a blend of modern beats and Tibetan tunes, this song expresses the singer's deep affection for her hometown, Xigaze, in Tibet.

Han Hong says she inherited her voice from her mother, a well-known Tibetan folk singer. After spending a carefree childhood on the beautiful plateau, Han Hong came to Beijing at the age of nine to study singing. But this was just the first step in a long musical journey. In 1985, 14-year-old Han Hong won her first national prize in a singing competition. Later, she was admitted into the renowned Central Conservatory of Music to further improve her vocal skills. You can judge for yourself if it was time well spent with this song, "Himalaya."

Han Hong is more than just a singer, though. She is one of the few female singers in China who also writes her own songs. She started composing songs in 1993, and wrote six of the tracks on her first album, "Rays over the Snowcapped Plateau." The song you are now listening to is the title track off the album, "Rays over the Snowcapped Plateau."

Han Hong's singing has distinctive Tibetan characteristics; she's able to shift freely from piercing high notes to soft low tones. Quite a number of Han Hong's songs are related to her roots in Tibet. Her songs combine elements of classical Tibetan folk music with pop music, and have thrown a light on the mysterious, rich culture of Tibet. The song you are hearing is called "Tianya," which literally means" the end of the heaven." It is the theme song from director Bao Dejia's film "The Touch," which is performed in the Tibetan language.

Although her music mainly deals with Tibetan themes, as a pop singer in Beijing, Han Hong has drawn on a lot of different musical elements such as jazz, R&B, rock and roll and Latin music. The song we are hearing is one of Han Hong rhythmic songs, "Come on."

No matter how many styles she mixes in her compositions, Han Hong is most at home with folk songs. This next song is called "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau," which Han Hong sings for the land where she grew up.

Though she is an energetic singer, Han Hong shows another side of her personality through her music, one of gentle restraint. Han Hong has made a remarkable contribution in helping to modernize and popularize Tibetan songs in China. To complete our tribute to this talented musician, we will now play one more Han Hong hit, "The Heavenly Road." This is Zhong Qiu, wishing you a nice week. 'Bye for now.(CRIENGLISH.com)