China’s piano prince Li Yundi has returned to his hometown of Chongqing, to launch his national tour. CCTV reporter Song Yaotian had a front row seat at the concert and brings us this report.

Renowned pianist Li Yundi is famous for winning the top prize at the International Chopin Competition at the age of just 18. As the youngest ever winner of the prize people had high-hopes for him, and 13 years later he hasn’t disappointed. Now at the age of 31, he is showcasing to his fellow Chonqingers that he has grown from that young prodigy to a mature maestro.

The concert begins with two of Chopin’s noctures, No.1 in B flat minor and No.2 in E flat, for which he is most famous for, he has even been hailed by the Polish government as the best interpreter in the world of the composer’s work. He continued to demonstrate his skills for far more than Chopin, playing Beethoven’s sonata "Appassionata".

An audience member said, "He dealt with the emotion and power of the tunes in a great way."

Li’s national tour is entitled "Piano Dream". With a tight schedule taking him to 30 cities over the next 80 days, he aims to bring his music to many second and third-tier cities.

After the concert, local fans scrambled to meet the star and get his autograph. It’s estimated that there are currently 50 million children learning to play the piano in China, and children were a prominent presence in the audience here.

Another audience member said, "I’ve brought my daughter here in the hope that I can ignite her interest towards music. My generation didn’t have opportunities to listen to music like this."

As well as his concert, Li visited a local youth club and his first piano teacher. And as an ambassador of the Chongqing Youth Volunteer Association, he also spoke with children who are currently learning the piano, perhaps inspiring the next big thing in the music world.

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