Talk of the town

"Musab is among the most hardworking apprentices I've had; among about 200 students I've interacted with. He would practice the pronunciations until midnight, and I would receive his WeChat messages around 2 or 3 am asking me to rate and correct these pronunciations," said Musab's master and teacher, Bo Kaiwen, 35.

In line with traditional Chinese values that emphasize the close teacher-student and master-apprentice relationship to pass on their knowledge and skills fully, Bo recalled being strict with Musab on several occasions.

"I made him cry once because he was responsible for an error, which was honestly just a minor mistake in spelling when announcing the contents on stage; as soon as he got backstage, I lectured and criticized him," Bo said, expressing the belief that only by treating everyone in the cross-talk profession equally, regardless of appearance or background, can the students understand and meet the requisite skills and standards.

"Hard work always pays off, and now Musab is comfortable showing himself on stage," Bo said.