නෙට් එකේ හිට් වුන, බෙයිජිං පාක් වල හාමෝනිකා ගහන සීයලා

Harmonicists playing together for 17 years go viral online

Two harmonicists, one 70 and the other 68, have become a popular duet online after they give free performances in Beijing parks for 17 years.

The latest harmonica ensemble Jingle Bells played by Fan Kaijian and Wang Zhixiang went viral online and has received over 100 million clicks.

They normally play in the Lianhuachi or Lotus Pond Park in Beijing, where the two are often encircled by layers of crowds.

They usually show up punctually at 09:30 on Thursday morning, and play until 11:30.

The 68-year-old Wang is responsible for playing the harmony part. And Fan, 70, plays the main melody. Wang is more active to interact with the audience, while Fan is obviously more quiet.

Their reputation has drawn them fans who even travel from other cities just to see the duet play live.

"My husband and I spent three and half hours or four hours on high-speed train to come here. We like them very much and are excited to be here. It's thrilling for us to have the honor to see them perform live," said Zhang Yanjun, one of the duet fans.

Some music instrumentalists would also come to see them and get some inspiration from them.

"I wish to promote accordion music in a more pleasant, easy-going and entertaining way to the audience. So it occurred to me that I could play with the two uncles like this in the park," said Li Churan, an accordion player.

Wang and Fan first met in 2007 out of their shared love for harmonica and the two have cooperated for 17 years. Aside from Lianhuach, they have also played at Jingshan, Beihai, and Taoranting parks and the Temple of Heaven.

The two have had disagreements but they always managed to find a way to settle them.

"Sometimes we disagreed on inaccurate tones or syllables, when I certainly would not restrain myself from airing my views. I'm a person who is outspoken and rather fastidious with details. If one section heard wrong and we didn't see eye to eye with one another, we'd record it and the one who made the mistake should buy the other a meal," said Wang.

"That is in fact a kind of kidding, which means that we should play more seriously," said Fan.

The two said that a new challenge to them is how to appeal to younger people.

"It is necessary to be creative, and compose new songs. Then we the true harmonicists can make some contributions to the art of harmonica performing, even just in terms of carrying it on," said Wang.

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