In the beginning, music majors were the main members of the choir, which soon started to attract amateur singers, like white-collar workers, who joined as a hobby.

Now, with 70 members-mostly amateur singers-the choir meets once a week to rehearse and gives one show a month. Jin writes 30 to 40 new songs for the choir every year.

"Music is fun, and that's what brought the choir members together. We never forget that," Jin says.

Jin's parents live in a mountainous area of Wenzhou, and he spends about 20 days a year at their home. One of his works, Zeya Anthology, is inspired by the Zeya mountain there, while another song, Bamboo Forest, is performed in the Wenzhou dialect.

From July to December, the choir will tour four Chinese cities, starting with a concert in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on July 13, before heading to Shanghai on July 20, Beijing on Nov 16 and 17, and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Dec 8.