Mastering the instruments of fate

"Some companies preferred to employ someone with a lesser degree rather than give me the job," she says, knowing that her disability was the reason. She ended up finding a blue collar job in an electronics factory, where, until 2008, she had to work from 7:30 am to 10 pm every day for very low wages.

Liu Jidong, Zhong's colleague, had the same feeling. In July 2008, the pair made the bold decision to resign from their stable jobs and form a band, headquartered in six rented rooms in Zhuxinzhuang, a suburban village of Beijing, so that those with physical challenges could find a place to continue playing music. Liu is the head of the troupe and Zhong his deputy.

It was a difficult beginning. The band didn't even have a name, let alone a chance of performing and generating an income; It took just one month for the group of 30 to spend the 80,000 yuan ($12,576) that Liu and Zhong had taken from their savings, during which period the only income they received was a 3,000 yuan payout from a college students' union.

So, they moved to Xi'an city, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, to make a living. "You might not believe it, but we had no money to rent a place to live, so we squatted in abandoned houses," says Liu. "Our band members had to collect dry wood to make a fire so we could keep warm and cook food."

Somehow, an entrepreneur from East China's Zhejiang province found out about the group and, hoping to "pick two or three" to perform at scenic spots, attempted to secure their services. However, the band were insistent that they played only as an ensemble. So moved by their solidarity, the entrepreneur decided to employ all them.

For most of the members, who are students of Zhong and Liu, that was their first job. For Zhong, that was where he found love－He met Chen, who he later married.