Do you remember what you were doing at the age of 7? Maybe kicking a shuttlecock with your friends, or busy with different tutoring classes? For a 7-year-old second grader from Songgang No. 2 Primary School in Bao’an District, Shenzhen, being 7-year-old means that she has performed alongside her idol, pianist Lang Lang, six times now. The young prodigy pianist is Bi Ye. To date, she has obtained eight gold medals at national piano competitions in China since the age of 5. At age 6, she won the gold prize at the International Franz Schubert Piano Competition for Children and Youth. And at age 7, she won the grand prize at the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition for Children and Youth, becoming the youngest winner of the prize. Praised as “a little piano genius” by Lang, Bi has become a key student in the Lang Lang International Music Foundation family. Like other parents, Bi’s parents simply wanted to provide their child with an extra-curricular activity to enhance her early years’ education. But when Bi’s mother learned that playing the piano can make kids smarter, more perseverant and more resilient, they signed Bi up to learn the piano at age 4. After three months, she could play and sing the song “Little Duck.” Bi has increased the duration of her piano practice from two hours to five hours since she started learning the instrument. Such intensive practice might be considered burdensome for a 4-year-old kid by most, but Bi’s mom said she was having fun with it. “Once she sits in front of the piano, she becomes excited with her fingers touching the keyboard,” said Bi’s mom. According to her mother, Bi’s wish at age 5 was to play alongside her idol Lang Lang. In 2016, Bi stood out at a piano competition and finally got the chance to play the piano with Lang Lang. After that, Bi’s parents sent her to Lang Lang Music World in Nanshan District, the first music school opened by the master pianist in the country, and ever since, she has been invited to perform with Lang from time to time. (Chen Xiaochun) | 