The Lightning Boy, Lu Yulong (top photo) and dancers Country 456 compete for the prize. Photos: Wang Xiao

China is addicted to talent shows, and it seems her people are addicted to performing on them. Whether they have an actual talent to showcase is another story, but turn the TV to almost any channel and you'll see another wannabe fame-chaser belting out a pop hit or hoofing along to a dance tune. Kids do it, teens do it, even grannies do it. 

From simply copycatting successful foreign talent shows like Super Girl (a copy of American Idol) to purchasing a licensed series that will include well-established methods and production values and teams, the Chinese talent-hunting business has come a long way. China's Got Talent (China Daren Show), which launched in China last year on Shanghai-based Dragon TV is one of the best so far. 

It certainly grabbed the attention of the nation. The first season was a summer ratings smash after its debut last year with a combination of talented individuals and touching back stories, a must for any performance-based reality show. Love or hate it, it can't be ignored. But critics question whether it is really a genuine attempt to find talented unsung heroes or whether it is a cynical attempt to mine the participants' back stories, the sadder the better, to create sensational TV. There have been a number of spoofs in the West of this talent show format, with the fake contestants vying with each other to see who can provide the most outrageous tale of hardship and woe that will see them through to the finals. In these cases the stories overshadow any actual talent.

Although that controversy and the jailing of former judge, singer Gao Xiaosong, after he was caught driving drunk in Beijing only a few weeks into the audition process haven't yet negatively affected the ratings, the production team still wanted to clear up a few issues by holding an academic seminar in Beijing on June 16, even including some Chinese scholars debating the future of the show. 

"We are thinking about the question: Which is more important, the talents or the stories hidden behind them? And we prefer to say both of them are necessary," said director Jin Lei. "Daren Show is not simply a stage for people to compete with each other, but nowadays mirrors Chinese people. So this season, we more focus on dreams. Everyone has his dream. What is it? How to make it come true? We all want to know." 

Since its first airing May 1, viewers have been up close and personal with the lives and dreams of some of the acts by introducing a documentary-style record of their progress, from the very first step of registration to their stepping out on the stage. When a short (under 1.5 meters tall), tubby gentleman who said he was a performing clown appeared, people had no idea what would come next. When Xiang Yanhong started singing an Italian opera song, "Nessun Dorma," all were shocked to hear his soaring voice. Xiang said he dreamed of singing accompanied by an orchestra of 60 or 70. 

"Stories like that are numerous. It really doesn't matter who is the idol and who is the champion. Why do people love to see our show? Because he finds out that he is not hunting a champion, but hunting himself. He can find his own shadow in every contestant," Jin added. 
Scholar Zhang Yiwu suggested China Daren Show should allow ordinary people to have 15 minutes of fame on the stage instead of finding a super star.
"Fifteen minutes for everyone is enough. I think a miracle made for ordinary people in that time speaks louder than one single Susan Boyle. The show must be a mirror of the whole Chinese people," said Zhang.

The show will culminate with a big gala performance July 10 at Shanghai Stadium, where those six contestants lucky enough to get through will perform alongside star of Britain's Got Talent Susan Boyle (although she only came second to a dance troupe).
They say that although it's the grand finale of the show, they may not crown an ultimate champion, preferring to select several top talents, who will all be in line to receive a life-changing contract to perform.   

China's most talented

Wudamu, the pure sound on the grassland
Twelve-year-old Wudamu from Hulunbeier, Inner Mongolia, moved the viewers – including the judges – to tears by singing the song "Erji (mother) in the Dream" to remember his late mom. The unlucky boy, who lost both parents to accidents, has a pure voice and is full of innocent love for nature. He said when standing on the grassland, he has the impulse to sing. He dreams of inventing a kind of ink that can turn the desert into the grassland.

Hu Qizhi, street performer's dream
American-Chinese Hu Qizhi impressed the viewers by manipulating a small crystal ball, not telling the future but amusing us. In the Beijing show, he changed up his act by manipulating a hoop. The hoop in his hand becomes a weapon that helped him conquer gravity to get a prized ticket to the Shanghai Daren Gala July 10. Hu said he dreamed of becoming a street performer, and he is one now.

The Joyous Couple, singing for love
Married couple Xi Yue and her husband Zhang Haijun, who dressed up as SpiderMan when Xi sang a folk song, touched the audience with their romantic story. Xi is a college graduate while Zhang is just a street vendor with no education background, who hardly makes a living. They couldn't afford a wedding and a ring, but they are "the happiest couple in the world."

Shuaya, weird and dangerous game 
Xue Qiaoping from Zhejiang Province brought her weird talents to the stage, performing shuaya (teeth-playing) by putting four to six pairs of animal teeth in her mouth and making various patterns. Xue admitted that she had been hurt many times by the sharp ends to learn this dying regional art. And for that, her first boyfriend broke up with her.