Building a musical bridge

Chinese mainland pop star Zhou Shen gifted his fans with live entertainment inside the new 50,000-seat Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong on Dec 31. Zhou became the first mainland artist to perform at the stadium since it opened in March 2025, ringing in the New Year with a countdown that extended into the first hour of 2026.

The New Year's gift was mutual. Zhou told China Daily on Jan 1, after his second show in the city, that singing with the audience made him immensely happy.

This was the final stop on his 28-show tour spanning 14 cities. Zhou, who rose to fame in a 2014 singing competition, is celebrated for his crystalline tone, versatile range, and technical mastery. During his shows, he performed for over three hours each night, turning Hong Kong's iconic arena into a sea of glowing light sticks, cheering, laughter, and tears. Zhou rose to each occasion, delivering a show rich in Hong Kong elements with heartfelt tributes to Cantonese culture.

Beyond imagination

The stage was adorned with a wide range of Hong Kong elements, such as handwritten minibus signs, neon lights, traditional Chinese qipao, and mascots from the recent National Games co-hosted by Hong Kong. Zhou even wove Hong Kong snacks, including pineapple buns and egg waffles, into the performance.

Also sparking discussions on social media, the singer, who grew up in Hunan province and Guizhou province and speaks little Cantonese, took time to prepare several classic Cantonese songs, including a song by legendary Hong Kong band Beyond and the festive Fortune God Has Arrived. He also engaged the audience in games, cracked jokes, and expressed gratitude in Cantonese.

Performing at a venue rich in symbolism, Zhou describes the experience as "a beautiful dream", one filled with nervous excitement and deep emotion.

Born in 1992, Zhou shares how Hong Kong films, TV series, and music shaped him. Countless works had moved and inspired him and a whole generation with their direct, powerful emotional pull.

Such deep admiration made him feel both honored and flattered, he says. In the eyes of the young artist, it was beyond his imagination.

The city was transformed into his own giant showcase prior to the concerts — with advertisements posted in subways, malls and on sailboats. Inside Kai Tak Sports Park, he recalled the overwhelming feeling of hearing tens of thousands of voices chanting his name and singing along even during the Mandarin songs. His earlier doubts and nerves were replaced by joy.

During the song request segment, Zhou recommended a fan from the mainland to try the local Hong Kong cuisine, as she had traveled to Hong Kong for the first time just to see him. When a local fan later thanked Zhou for bringing more joy into her life and told him that many people without tickets hoped he'd return soon, he responded with a long, deep bow to the audience.

"It's hard to believe something this beautiful is real," Zhou says."Hong Kong has given me an extraordinary gift."