BOOK SIGNING: Ren Yueli, a street singer-turned unlikely star, signs an autobiographical photo album for her fans in a Beijing bookstore (CFP)

Given that she can earn some money from singing, Mumu says making her own cash helps relieve the financial burden on her family and helps pay her tuition and living costs.

But performing on the street isn't as easy as it looks, and initially Mumu says she was often hit with bouts of anxiety, especially when pedestrians would throw her some cash.

"I held the guitar and hesitated for quite a while before singing. I don't like the sympathetic stares from strangers," Mumu recalled.

Besides trying to make money, she must also cope with the various folks she encounters, never certain who she'll meet.

Lately in Beijing, Mumu encountered a man who had for years made a living performing on the street. This man performed in some other cities as a street singer before coming to Beijing. He asked her to help him start a band together. Attracted by his ambition, Mumu researched him online only to find that he was suspected of fraud.

According to one newspaper report, the man once solicited money from the public in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi Province, claiming the funds would help pay the medical bills of his ailing teacher. An investigation by the newspaper found that the teacher did not exist.

"Street singers are mixed up with good and ill-intentioned people. I have to be aware of those who have a complicated history and background," said Mumu.

Legal or illegal?

This summer, a group of students from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology conducted a survey on street performers in the city. The survey found that the majority of buskers were single males, between the ages of 20 and 40. More than half of them play a musical instrument, and about 20 percent of them draw portraits. Most buskers have worked on the street for three to five years and often roamed in different cities. Thirty percent of interviewees said they were forced by economic hardship to become buskers, 55 percent of them said they just like performing and do it as a part-time job, and only 15 percent of buskers said they hope to be discovered and reach stardom from their work.

Street performers may be a source of amusement, but police permission is mandatory—so as to not "disturb the public order"—before they can use their talents to earn some cash. Nonetheless, police and other public service officials often appear tolerant toward the performers, avoiding any major fuss.

Mumu has encountered her own fair share of run-ins with chengguan. "Up to now, they have been polite to me. They usually say I should pack up my guitar and return to school."

Others see buskers as having great artistic potential.

Luo Huaizhen, a Shanghai playwright, said street performance is a great way to promote art among the public.

Hu Shoujun, a sociology professor at Fudan University, argues that the public should make a distinction between street performers and beggars. "We should give street performers more tolerance and love. They hope to illustrate their artistic ability on the street and make money through their work," Hu said.

Currently, many Chinese cities are preparing to legislate laws to guide and protect street performance. Government officials are increasingly becoming aware that street entertainment may be a necessity. Without it, cities would lack a certain cultural and artistic flair.

"If municipal governments can establish a comprehensive system to let buskers perform in cities, we won't have to worry about our performance being interrupted. Only then can our art flourish," said Mumu.

Email us at: baishi@bjreview.com