Chinese band Mayday based on the island of Taiwan livestream a concert Photo: Courtesy of TME Live A girl is jogging with a mask. A waitress showcases the serving chopsticks in East China's Jiangsu Province. A newly wedded couple showcase their marriage certificates. Photos: IC, VCG

Singers from Taiwan have been making their way to the Chinese mainland to deliver captivating performances recently, highlighted by the recent close-to-­capacity concerts by music band Mayday at the Bird's Nest stadium from Friday to Sunday in Beijing.

Official figures unveiled in April show that the mainland has approved a total of 431 performances featuring Taiwan artists since February 16. It is estimated that singers and bands from Taiwan will host nearly 100 large concerts and participate in dozens of major music festivals across the mainland by the end of 2023. 

Several music icons from Taiwan, such as Jay Chou, A-mei, Angela Chang, Jeff Chang and Rene Liu are set to take turns entertaining the mainland audiences, ensuring a non-stop series of explosive concerts will be held throughout the year. The cross-Taiwan Straits musical exchanges are expected to ignite a frenzy among fans, leading to a surge in ticket sales and a renewed enthusiasm for Mandopop music.

Zhang Yiwu, a professor of Chinese language and literature at Peking ­University, told the Global Times on Monday that the music industry in Taiwan has had an impact on mainland audiences that has been lasting since the 1980s.

"Music from Taiwan has been impacting the mainland since the 1980s, and in return the mainland market has grown to be the major source of profit for the Taiwan music industry," Zhang told the Global Times. 

However, he emphasized that since 2010 the mainland's music industry has made significant progress in local music production and artist training, in terms of both quality and quantity, gradually surpassing their Taiwan counterparts.

The political tensions across the Taiwan Straits have also victimized the entertainment business, as the Taiwan authorities have imposed a ban on mainland streaming platforms iQiyi and Tencent. This has also limited mainland artists from bringing performances to the island. 

"Political tension has impaired music exchanges between the two sides but it is not the deciding element," Zhang said. 

"The market in Taiwan cannot generate the same-level profit as the mainland market, that's why rarely we see mainland artists go to Taiwan to perform nowadays."

In addition to concerts, several Chinese mainland variety shows have extended invitations to Taiwan singers so they can showcase their talents.

The recent hit show Infinity and Beyond 2023 has invited various generations of artists from Taiwan and the mainland to perform together, taking audiences on a nostalgic journey through the development of Taiwan pop music. 

Another topic trending on Chinese social media on Monday was a 23-year-old woman who expressed her gratitude to Taiwan singer Richie Ren while he was holding a concert in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning Province. 

Twenty-two years ago, when Ren learned from a local newspaper a baby was suffering from a congenital heart disease, he spontaneously decided to donate 30,000 yuan ($4,250) to ensure she could undergo necessary surgery, thus making it possible for the girl to grow up and appear one day at one of his concerts.  

The look on Ren's face revealed his astonishment and disbelief at witnessing the heartwarming results from an act of kindness he had long forgotten. However, it is exactly this type of kindness from across the Straits that connects people on both sides.