White-haired crooner awaits friends old and new

Former professor happy to see his name up in lights at the Expo Garden, Li Xinzhu reports.

After 22 years spent working in Northwest China, and 15 years teaching architecture at Shanghai's Jiaotong University, 75-year-old Xiong Shide never thought he would become a singer, let along see his face on the TV or his name in the papers.

But that is precisely what has happened thanks to his performances inside the Expo Garden, where he entertains visitors by belting out classical Chinese and Russian songs as part of the ongoing City Square Art Festival.