Three of Shenzhen University’s international chorus members, who co-created a song for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, recently spoke to Shenzhen Daily about the inspiration for the song and the “unexpected” influence it has generated following its release.

Shin Moon-sub

Shin Moon-sub, a South Korean Ph.D. candidate of Shenzhen University, who composed the music of the song “When the Ice is Shining” to pay tribute to the Games, said he finished his demo in March last year and then invited two lyrics writers to help complete the work.

“I talked to my friend Zhang Haomiao about my inspiration from the song ‘Hand in Hand’ which was the theme song of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. It reminded me of the hard time Korean people had experienced during the diplomatic deadlock between North and South Korea,” he said. “I told her about how I wished we could cheer up people suffering during the hard time of the COVID-19 and how we could support this year’s Winter Olympics, and then she helped write the Chinese lyrics.”

Zhang Haomiao

“I spent 10 days to complete the Chinese lyrics,” said Zhang, a graduate from Shenzhen University. “Based on the theme of this year’s Winter Olympics, I wrote the song in praise of the beauty of nature, the pureness of snow, and the bravery of athletes and people who have the courage to chase their dreams.”

“With love and a common pursuit, people can be united just as how the Games connect all of us,” Zhang added.

Members of Shenzhen University’s international chorus pose for a group photo at the Palace Museum in Beijing after staging a performance in the city.

Francisco Arriaga Gomez, the English lyrics writer and a student from Shenzhen University, said he managed to maintain the same spirit conveyed by the Chinese lyrics when finishing his part of the work.

“The game unites us and the spirit of it is especially valuable to us during the pandemic,” said Gomez.

“Because of joining in the chorus I got the special experience to take part in writing and singing with others for the song. I wish the Beijing Winter Olympics a great success.”

Gomez wrote in the lyrics that we all “get united under this light” and will “be a part of this brotherhood,” as he was touched by the Chinese part of “friendship unites our homelands.”

“I was surprised to know that people outside of Shenzhen got to know more of the city and my school because of the song,” Shin said. “Originally we just wanted to show our enthusiasm to the Games, but then I found it a way for others to know more about the city and its strengths.”

Shin said he felt honored as a Shenzhen student to draw people’s attention to the spirit of the Olympics and helped organize more than 100 international students across China to sing for the Games.

To complete his dream, Shin spent time online teaching over 100 participants from more than 50 countries and 24 universities to sing the song and edited each part of the singing into the final version.

In October, Shin, Zhang, Gomez and two other members of the school’s chorus team won first prize at the music competition of the fourth Silk Road & Young Dreams.

Shin then led the StudyinChina Cloud Chorus (whose more than 100 members took part in recording the song), re-edited the original song and released the current version through Channel 13 of the China Central Television.

Shin’s story has also caught South Korean media’s attention.