His introduction to the instrument came in primary school, when he joined a student band. After his peers grabbed the more popular instruments such as the guzheng or erhu, he found that only one was left: a long, strange gadget lying against the wall. "I thought it actually looked pretty cool, so I picked it up," he says.

He mostly had to learn the instrument by himself. The more praise he won for his performances, the harder he practiced. His interest in and love for the sanxian grew out of this childhood experience.

After graduation, Zhao joined the Beijing Performance and Arts Group, where he would give solo performances on weekends before a reshuffle in the company. He eventually left to pursue a series of non-music related ventures, such as running restaurants; but his passion for the sanxian never waned.

In 2005, Zhao joined the HKCO, and has served as the principal sanxian performer since 2017. While on tour with the orchestra in countries as Russia, Singapore and Estonia, his solo performance of the Song of Black Earth, in which he sang over his own lute playing, has earned him standing ovations.

Zhao is concerned about the survival of his ancient art, as many professional orchestras lack the instrument. In order to revive interest in it, he and the HKCO have arranged to celebrate the Chinese New Year by debuting their newest sanxian production, As the Strong Winds Blow. One show took place on Friday, with the other set for Saturday night at the Hong Kong City Hall.