Yu Yaonan, a veteran performer of Hakka mountain songs, performs during an interview, Meizhou, South China's Guangdong province, June 18, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

Born in 1938 in Malaysia, Yu Yaonan went back to China at the age of 2. Greatly influenced by his mother, Yu fell in love with Hakka mountain songs in his childhood.

At 11, Yu started to perform the mountain songs and appeared in many local performances. Since the 1960s, the artist has been training more people to perform the traditional songs. Many of his students were from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and Thailand.

In 2008, Yu was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage inheritor.