Pop singer Li Yuchun (3rd from right) talks about HIV/AIDS prevention with migrant workers in Chongqing. Qu Jin
When Chinese pop singer Li Yuchun made a special trip to Chongqing recently, she was not there for a meet-and-greet with her fans. Instead, the 24-year-old shared her personal experiences with 26 migrant workers from local nightclubs and beauty salons about HIV/AIDS prevention.
One of the workers, Wu Hong (not her real name), a masseuse, was overwhelmed to see Li playing a job hunter holding a sign that said "massage" in a game called "Hazard Zone".
"That reminds me of exactly what I experienced when I first came to the city," says Wu, 17. Her parents had moved to a southern city to work at a shoe-shine stand, leaving her behind at their rural home.
"I'm a big fan of Li and I was relieved when she told us that skin contact won't cause AIDS," she says.
Wu had worried about catching HIV and with good reason. "My cousin was a masseuse for a short time. She died of AIDS," she says.
Li's trip, organized by the UNICEF Office for China, is also uplifting for the singer. With a boyish charm and unconventional personality, Li gained fame in 2005 when she won the nationwide Super Girl singing contest, the Chinese version of American Idol.
Playing games and drawing pictures with Wu and others taught Li "a great deal about the life my peers confronted as migrant workers", she says.
