Taiwan singer Wu Kenji Photo: People's Daily

Over the past few years, I have been to many places I'd never set foot in, done many things I'd never tried before, and made many new friends. Along the way, I have discovered a deeper sense of purpose and come to understand what life is really about.

On the second day of the second lunar month, known as the day the dragon lifts its head, I joined Jiang Debing, a barber in Zunyi city, Southwest China's Guizhou Province, who has been giving free haircuts to those in need for 46 years, to bring together more than 100 volunteer barbers and others for a free haircut event.

Just before the Year of the Horse, in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, I helped organize a 24-hour New Year's Eve dinner to honor the everyday heroes working through the holiday. 

Earlier this year, in Baise city, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, I went into the fields with fruit farmers to cut sugarcane and pick small tangerines. From concert stages to rural farmlands, being with people has given me so much to reflect on.

My life used to revolve around music and film. Then in 2018, a movie project fell through, and I lost my beloved mother. Those blows shattered my old routines. Looking back, I realized that despite my so-called success, my life had grown thin and my vision narrow. My mother's passing taught me one final lesson: a person's life shouldn't be just a performance under the spotlight.

You have to go out into the world to feel its texture. In recent years, besides touring, my short videos have featured many new scenes and faces. In Liuyang city, Central China's Hunan Province, the fireworks made for an almost surreal backdrop. 

In Nanning city, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 100 yuan ($14.63) was enough to buy all the fruit you could want. I reached out my hands, stepped forward, bent down, and felt the world open up. It's been a long time since life felt this colorful.

As I began showing up more often in alleys and villages, some people gave me a label: "bringing online traffic to the countryside." But I had already known the power of attention long before "traffic" became a buzzword. The more I stay close to people, the more I realize that traffic comes from the public, and it should benefit the public too. How lucky I am to now be able to use that attention to bring a little help to others and a little change to the world. I've never felt so "rich."

One memory of a crowded bus ride stands out. Bus 252 in Guiyang city, Guizhou Province is a special route for farmers. One morning at 5 am, I boarded the bus alongside farmers carrying their produce. The moment I lifted a basket of vegetables, I truly understood the weight of their hopes and the simple, genuine happiness of just wanting to sell all their greens. 

That video touched many people. Later, we coordinated with more than 50 restaurants and supermarkets to hold a "vegetable auction" right in the fields, selling 30,000 jin (15,000 kilograms) of produce in one go and helping set up long-term supply channels between farmers and buyers. We cheered as each batch was sold, sharing every bit of excitement and joy.

The smiles of the vegetable farmers, the honesty of the porters in Chongqing, the simple wishes of the sanitation workers… each of them anchors my sense of happiness. In the warmth of everyday life, those who live with such earnestness and vitality inspire and nourish me in return. And that's how traffic gains its warmth.

Some people ask what I am trying to gain from all this? "For traffic" or "just a show?" If traffic can flow through me to places that truly need it, if it can showcase the best of more communities, then I'll keep at it.  

A while ago, I quietly visited farmers on Bus 252 and was delighted to learn that the city had set up a dedicated space for them to sell their produce. But really, what can one person accomplish alone? In the past, I wrote lyrics like "I'll write you a poem" and "I'll do the impossible for you," which are just love-song lines. Now, I write that "poem" for all of us. It's the relay of countless people that brings forth the power of kindness. If there's any true, timeless "top trend," it is the upward spirit of life and the underlying goodness of society.

The best creative material isn't found in a recording studio, it's in the everyday hustle and bustle. Today, I still want to write good songs and sing them for more people. Behind the traffic lies trust and responsibility. In the future, I hope to turn that trust into a light in my hand, to brighten someone's life, and into a path under my feet, to walk alongside those who need me most.

The author is a singer from the island of Taiwan. The article was published on page 5 of People's Daily on April 9.