"It's also easier for us to travel to villages of Yunnan to learn folk music and collect material. Many of the folk songs performed by ethnic groups are used for various occasions, such as weddings, funerals and hunting. For example, you need to play musical instruments and sing if you want to express your love to your girlfriend or boyfriend."

Shanren's members come from various ethnic backgrounds. The bassist Sigao Ala is from the Yi ethnic group; the multi-instrumentalist Fu Te is from the Bouyei ethnic group; and Qu and the drummer Ou Jianyun are Han Chinese; the percussionist Sam Debell is from Britain.

Qu says his early life involved a lot of moving and traveling, and after settling in the city of Kunming he felt a sense of belonging.

Born and growing up in mountainous regions of western Yunnan, Qu learned many local ethnic songs. He did not realize the value of those tunes until much later, he says.

"I listened to Western rock music like many young people, and I tried to play with Western musical instruments when I decided to launch a career as a rock musician. However, I found the instruments' limitations made it difficult to forge my own style."

After forming Shanren he further realized that the band could not make a breakthrough with Western musical instruments and musical styles but discovered endless new possibilities with Chinese instruments, especially those belonging to ethnic groups.

In addition to gaining a big following in China, particularly among the young, it toured nationwide.

Shanren has also performed overseas, including in Britain, Canada, Indonesia, Spain and the United States. Qu says there is no barrier for international audiences to appreciate the band's music. In 2016 the band won the TV reality show Sing My Song, aired on China Central Television, which gave its music huge exposure. The group became one of the few rock bands presented on TV variety shows when it was featured on Hunan Satellite TV's Happy Camp.

"Compared with many other successful Chinese bands we are not that well-known," Qu says. "But we obviously have a following, and since our TV appearances we have been recognized by people on the street. For Shanren the ultimate goal is to create music that makes people happy."

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