Wu Qingli, a 19-year-old from Hong Kong, began dancing when she was very young and was once a part-time model while learning photography in junior college. Because she was fond of idol-type training programs in South Korea, the idea of being part of one began to cropped up two years ago.

Wu now hopes to achieve her dream through a low-threshold path open to ordinary people like herself. She found the Management of New Arts (MNA), an entertainment brokerage company, through its microblog and made a decision to come to Beijing in May after learning more about the company. At first, her parents showed no support, but Wu was clear and firm on her decision. "The circle in Hong Kong was too small, with limited opportunities, so I had to come to Beijing," she said.

Despite the huge amount of such brokerage companies in Beijing, MNA is among the few that have their own fixed sites and present public performances every season. With a wave of variety shows sweeping China, the so-called trainee system, a model of creating stars that originated in Japan and South Korea, is booming in China. The system is meant to mould new stars from a selection of ordinary people through several months or even years of training. In Japan and South Korea, where it is already mature, the idol industry is of high economic value. According to Iincn.com, the output value of the industry in South Korea was more than 30 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) in 2016. It is predicted that by 2020, China's idol industry will be worth 100 billion yuan ($14.4 billion).

A friend of Duan Yaoqi helps to tidy his hair before a performance 

According to Wu, the life of a trainee in Beijing is not as difficult as in South Korea and at least the competition is less fierce. Wu takes an average of four classes a day from Monday to Friday, with every class lasting two hours. The company will continuously rearrange classes according to everyone's monthly performance appraisal. The practice rooms are open to the trainees all day, with some people practicing even on weekends. Currently, her class has a dozen trainees and the curriculum covers vocal, dance and physical training among other disciplines.

Duan Yaoqi, 21, is Wu's classmate and came to Beijing from Taiyuan in Shanxi Province in February. Recently, he decided to give up his college studies in computer science to devote himself to his dream.

"I began to learn violin and dance when I was very young, but my parents decided that I should learn computers after my college entrance examination, which I'm not at all interested in," he said, adding that he always cherished the dream of becoming an artist.

Wu Qingli watches a friend's makeup process before a performance

Today, Duan feels whole and satisfied with his life in Beijing, particularly when compared to his last two years in college. "It was a science and engineering college, with no dance club or the like, so I had to take dance classes outside of school," he said.

He shares an apartment with another trainee from the same company and although the house is small and life is tough, they have a lot in common, which makes life much more enjoyable. One drawback for him is that in college, he had time to play basketball and swim, but now, apart from physical training classes, there is almost no free time for sports. "Every day, classes squeeze all my time, and I'm very tired after physical training. I want to do nothing but sleep when I get home," he explained.

However, Duan feels that he is making progress in dancing and singing every day after becoming a trainee. "My parents show some support nowadays," he said. As for the future, he said that even if he doesn't become a successful artist or star, he will still do art-related work. "I have confidence in myself," he said.

Wu is also very clear about her plans; she is only giving herself three years to chase her dream of becoming a star. "If I can't achieve certain success after two or three years' training, I will have doubts about my abilities. Most likely, I am not suited for this occupation."

Trainees of the Management of New Arts take a vocal class on August 20 in Beijing

In accordance with the trainee system, the company will only consider presenting someone as a star after they have successfully gone through examinations at various levels and based on the individual's characteristics and the market situation at that time. Only then will a trainee have a chance to become an idol. But of course, no one knows how long before that day comes.

Back in the company's biggest practice room, trainees in their 20s dance to a quick rhythm in the space between two huge mirrors. In sweat-soaked T-shirts, the trainees eagerly follow their teacher's instructions. They don't have the luxury of wasting one minute or one second; after all, youth is a very valuable and short period of time.

(Photos by Wei Yao) 

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo 

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