A stray singer in Guijie

There is a group of people who carry guitars and walk through Beijing's Guijie, struggling for their music dreams. Sometimes they get applauses and recognition, while sometimes they are ridiculed.

Hei Zipei, a 34-year-old man from Muli County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, has been a migrant worker in Beijing for eight years. He had done many jobs including forestry worker, waiter, car cleaner, remover, security guard.

He went viral online when he sang outside a concert with a wood guitar in 2010. Now he restarts his music life in Guijie.

Hei rents a small room at Songjiazhuang, where the Beijing Subway Line 5 ends. He practices singing and playing guitar early in the morning every day. He not only performs others' songs but also writes songs by himself. Even though he encounters many difficulties on the road of music, he never gives up.

There are also some principles in the field of stray singers. Hei always asks whether other singers have sung in a restaurant before he enters, because customers rarely order songs twice.

Guijie is a hilarious place for youth to relax at night. If one customer orders a song, Hei will play the guitar and give the performance and finally gets 30 yuan for the song. If lucky enough, he will get tips from some generous listeners.

The happiest thing for him is getting welcome and applauses, and the sorrowful thing is being misunderstood and ridiculed. Hei told the reporter that he had tasted ups and downs and this is helpful to his development.

Stray singer seems to be a romantic and cushy job, while one needs to feel his twists and turns, ups and downs. For instance, Hei earns 1,000 yuan a night at most; but he earns nothing when business is not good. What is worse, he has to pay 30 percent of income to the restaurant in which he sings.

Unlike other singers, who stay late in the night until 3 a.m., waiting for the happy drunk listeners to pay more money. Hei goes back to his rented room by the last subway. He has to prepare for the performance next day.

Sometimes, Hei stands in the street of Beijing, watching people come and go. As a migrant worker in Beijing, he has complicated emotions for this city. He is never passive; he firmly moves forward toward his dream steps by steps. 

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