A struggling Chongqing rock band, along with other original Chinese musicians, are being propelled into the spotlight by a musical reality show, Chen Nan reports.

When he was 13-year-old, Tan Congchong fell victim to school bullies. Being angry and depressed, he listened to Chinese rock music, such as singer-songwriter Xu Wei and the band Tang Dynasty, which, to his surprise, comforted him.

"I became a rock music fan overnight. The lyrics made me feel strong and healed me. The melody gave me power," recalls the 24-year-old. He has since taught himself to play the bass and has started to write songs.

In September 2017, as bassist and lead vocalist, Tan, who is also known by his stage name, Cong Cong, formed his own band, Neon Garden, along with 22-year-old guitarist Xia Bing, 24-year-old guitarist Wan Jiahao and 22-year-old drummer Zhao Yang. The four Chongqing natives, who all share the same passion for rock music, play in local bars to make a living.

On March 9, however, they made their debut appearance on reality show, Chuang, which was launched by Chinese online video platform Youku.

The 12-episode reality show gathers over 100 groups of Chinese musicians and aims to catapult them to stardom.

Neon Garden's original rock songs impressed the three judges of the reality show, Taiwan singer-songwriter Jam Hsiao, Hong Kong rapper and singer Jackson Wang, and Beijing-based singer-songwriter Chen Li. Hsiao describes Neon Garden's music as "the most authentic Chinese rock music" in the show.

One of their original songs, But I Love You, was written by Xia and is based on his own personal life.

"The song is about romance but we deliver the song in a direct and raw way," says Xia, who once ran a tattoo shop in Chongqing, where he met Tan.

"We've been a struggling band. We sing on the street and work part-time jobs to make our ends meet," says Tan, "but we write songs and sing. That's all we ever wanted to do. That's the same goal for the four of us."

Last year, Neon Garden stood out among a hundred original young musicians as part of a competition to join a music program－launched in 2017 by Chinese music industry guru Xu Xiaofeng, the former head of Warner Music in China－which supports original homegrown singer-songwriters.

Wu Qunda directs Chuang, which also gathers other creative team members from a previous popular China Central Television show, Song of China (2013-15). Wu was also the director of Song of China, which successfully propelled a group of original Chinese musicians into stardom, including Zhao Lei and Su Yunying.

"The music scene has changed a lot compared with around six years ago when we produced Song of China. For the new reality show, Chuang－a Chinese character which means to start doing a brand-new thing and implies 'creativity and bravery'－brings a diversity of music styles from young Chinese musicians," says Wu.

"They are open to the international music scene and create their own music using the latest technology. We've also seen many young musicians, who are interested in traditional Chinese culture and have combined it into their music.

"With Chuang, we not only want to showcase the young Chinese singer-songwriters and their songs, but also inspire the viewers and hopefully ignite that creative spark in their own lives."

Singer-songwriter Zhao Jingxu, who is better known by his stage name, Winky Shi, writes songs based on traditional Chinese poetry. Li Sao (The Sorrow of Parting) and Shan Gui (Ghost of Mountains) are based on poems by Qu Yuan, a poet from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).

"I wanted to meet more original Chinese singer-songwriters so I joined the reality show," says the 28-year-old Zhao, who was born in Suihua, Heilongjiang province.

He first got inspired to turn traditional Chinese poetry into songs in 2015 when he was preparing for the gaokao, China's national college entrance exam.

"The poems are long and are hard to remember, so I composed melodies for them," says Zhao, who was introduced to music by his parents and learned keyboard and guitar in school.

"I like music from the 1970s, such as the songs of Teresa Teng, a successful pop singer from Taiwan. Traditional Chinese poetry inspires me and I want to create a series of works based on them. I also write songs of different genres, such as jazz and hip-hop."

Besides the newcomers, the reality show also invites singers who have already gained fame in the music scene to participate, including Liu Liyang and Xu Liang.

Additionally, the show invites crossover artists to attend, such as Chinese origami artist Liu Tong, who created original paper artwork for the musicians and the audience on the show.

"Like songwriting, the process of creating origami expresses personal ideas and is about creativity. I've done many crossover projects, like working with fashion designers and movie makers, and we all inspire one another through the performance of our own disciplines," says Liu.