Fans blown away by talent and warmth of reality show winner

The talent reality show Riding the Wind 2023 that highlights women celebrities concluded on Friday, with Taiwan singer Ella Chen Chia-hwa crowned as winner.

Chen, once a member of the female performance group SHE, impressed the viewers with her outstanding singing and dancing, as well as the way she interacted with and offered encouragement to her fellow participants.

The show has garnered more than 7 billion views on the video-sharing platform Mango TV, according to the box-office tracker Maoyan.

The show aims to expand cross-cultural collaboration and mutual support among women, regardless of their language, age or personality, and has invited female celebrities from diverse cultural backgrounds to participate in duets and group performances throughout the competition.

After the finals, Japanese singer Maria, also known as Mai Mizuhashi, said that she joined the show to tap into a larger audience in the hope of enhancing the friendship between people from Japan and China.

She added that other participants had actively supported her in overcoming the language barrier and helped her integrate into the collective. She connected with many Chinese singers and musicians during the show and plans to seek further collaboration with them in the future.

"I also want to learn about playing traditional Chinese instruments, like guzheng (Chinese zither), and produce songs featuring cultural elements of China," she said.