Dalian opens its doors wider to buskers

He said a vendor selling fishing gear in a square waited for an hour to see the band perform one evening. It was the first time the vendor had seen Panshi, and he stayed to the end of the performance, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Wang said: "Life in cities is stressful. Our busking allows people to stop and take a break. Although performing takes time and energy, we really enjoy it."

As Dalian has many public squares, Wang added that the band's goal in the next few years is to perform in all of them.

Several kilometers away from the square where Panshi performed, Jin Zhongnan played percussion music with the trio Multiverse, watched by a large crowd that mainly comprised young tourists.

Multiverse has a large number of fans in cities across China, and Jin said many of these supporters fly to Dalian to watch the band's street performances.

Although the band members have received numerous invitations to perform commercially, they have continued to busk since 2014. Most of these performances are staged in summer, when Dalian welcomes large numbers of tourists. The band plays three times a week, with each performance lasting an hour.

Jin said buskers in Dalian have set up online chat groups to recommend performance sites for one another. Most of these sites are in areas that attract crowds of tourists.

"The city is really friendly to buskers. As long as we're not obstructing people, not creating a nuisance, or playing in a residential community, no one asks us to leave," Jin said.

In addition to outdoor performances, the city authorities have invited buskers to perform indoors, especially in public areas at museums.

This summer, a small orchestra comprising student and teacher buskers from Dalian Art College played chamber music with a string quartet at Dalian Museum. Even on a rainy afternoon last month, the buskers attracted an audience.