Acquiring new skills

Another motivation was his family, says Zhao, who withdrew from the limelight and spent most of his time with his family after he married actress Zhang Danlu in 2006. Zhao is also a father of three children, with the eldest daughter aged 14, the second son aged 10 and the youngest daughter aged 5.

"My family members also encouraged me to join the show. They enjoy music and dance. For example, my wife was trained to become a Peking Opera actress when she was young. I am one in my family with little knowledge about music and dance," says Zhao.

"However, I decided to join to show my children how their father is capable of being brave, taking on challenges, and how important it is to set your goal and fight for it."

Zhao put his past glory aside and started to learn singing and dancing. He says he didn't know how to wear an in-ear monitor-a tool for performing artists-and he spent hours learning to dance, sing and even rap.

"It was a wild, fun and rewarding experience being on the show. I am very excited about developing my new skills now," Zhao says.

"I stopped all my other jobs and concentrated on the show. The feedback of the audience was unexpected. For the younger generations of audience, they may not know me very well. The show is a good way for them to get to know me."

For years, Zhao kept a healthy lifestyle, getting up early, going to the gym, and never staying up late. His lifestyle also captured the attention of the audience and influenced other participants of the reality show. As a man who practiced martial arts since childhood, Zhao also brought that to the show. In one episode, he performed martial arts with a sword after he sang a song. He also showed and elaborated the "fist-and-palm salute", one of the most commonly used gestures by Chinese martial artists, which appear in many movies and TV shows.