Jin Yuanhui, who thrilled the Bird's Nest at the Paralympics Opening Ceremony, says it was one of the highlights of his life.

The 24-year-old blind pianist from Shandong says he was fully prepared for the occasion.

"I didn't feel stressed to perform in such a great event - I felt excited to do so, as it was one of the most important experiences in my life," he says.

In 2004, Jin and other five members of the China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe performed at the closing ceremony of Athens Paralympics. This time, he played solo and performed Fantasy Impromptu by Chopin.

Jin, who lost his sight when he was born, has always loved music and even as a child it would calm him down whenever he got upset. His first birthday present was a toy piano and he started to play electronic keyboard when he was just 2 years old.

"Music is always my best friend. When I play piano, I feel like my world is fully filled with sweetness and happiness," he explains.

In 1997, he was recruited as an exceptional 13-year-old by the middle school affiliated to Central Conservatory of Music. But things didn't go as smoothly as he had expected because he found difficult to communicate with his teachers because of his disability.

One day a teacher, Qin Er, was giving a detailed description of a musical composition Butterfly, in order to stimulate his imagination of the scene.

Suddenly, the teacher stopped as she realized that Jin had never seen what she was describing. That day, after leaving school, Qin closed her eyes and walked on a path set aside for blind people, trying to experience exactly what Jin's life was like. She nearly fell over after just a few steps.

Ever since, Qin has adapted her teaching methods, including playing notes on Jin's skin to help him sense the music. Jin really appreciated his teacher's effort and made great progress from then on.

He says being blind presents no extra problems to find the right notes to play. The hardest thing is injecting his spirit into the music and expressing feelings beyond the mere meaning of the words.

Reflecting on his performance at the Opening Ceremony, Jin admits he only had abstract ideas of the concepts behind the music. To him, though, the music was rich in poetry and had a slow rhythm, so he even relaxed his facial expressions to match the music.

"I wanted the audiences to feel how much I cherish my life through my music," he says.

(China Daily 09/10/2008 page18)