Brits finding inspiration across China

In 2013, Welsh singer-songwriter Gareth Bonello released an album, titled The Immortal Bard (right).[Photo provided to China Daily]

According to Nick Marchand, the director of arts and creative industries for British Council China, the residencies have resulted in a diverse range of collaborations and output.

"This program supports UK-based musicians to benefit from a rare opportunity to immerse themselves in a different culture," says Marchand.

"We choose these Chinese cities, mainly second- and third-tier ones, which offer these musicians exposure and connection."

The benefits last, says Marchand.

For instance, in 2013, Welsh singer-songwriter Gareth Bonello released an album, titled The Immortal Bard, combining Welsh and Chinese folk music to tell the life story of Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai.

It was named Welsh Album of the Year at the 2014 National Eisteddfod, and was nominated for the 2014 Welsh Music Prize.

In 2011, Bonello was one of the four UK musicians chosen to take part in the first round of the Musician in Residence China program.

It was his first time in China and he was very excited to see a country that he had always hoped to travel to.

During his six weeks in Chengdu, Sichuan province, he met musicians, who taught him about traditional Chinese music.

"The most inspiring experience for me was listening to the musicians performing. They were all extremely skilled and had a very deep understanding of their instruments and the music. It had a profound effect on me and inspired me to write music that would do their talent justice," he says. "Chengdu is a very different place from my home city of Cardiff, which is the capital of Wales. Cardiff has a population of just 340,000 so it took quite a while for me to adapt to living in a big city like Chengdu.

"Although on the surface there may not seem to be a lot of similarities between Cardiff and Chengdu, when I scratched the surface I did find that they had plenty in common.

"The people of both cities have a friendly, laid-back quality that helps life to move along at a comfortable pace. There is also a shared love of open spaces, as can be seen by the large number of parks and gardens right in the center of town. Both Cardiff and Chengdu place a high value on culture and history, which really helped me to feel at home in Chengdu."

He then decided to research Chinese poetry as a way of getting an insight into Chinese culture. He read not only Li Bai but other Chinese poets of the Tang Dynasty such as Du Fu and Wang Wei.

The album was recorded both in China and the UK and involved musicians from both countries.

In 2015, he visited China again, and performed in Chongqing, Kunming and Chengdu with an ensemble comprising traditional Chinese instruments－the erhu, the guzheng, the pipa and the xiao.

"It was a real thrill to perform the songs with a Chinese ensemble before an audience for the first time. I had written and recorded an album that was inspired by Chinese culture, so of course I wanted to share it with Chinese audiences. It was really fascinating to hear what people had to say, and it's something I hope to do again in the future," he says.