Comedians on a happy mission

Most of them dropped out of high school because of poverty. They were farmers before changing, ahem, their profession. They have appeared on TV and performed at various galas. To top it all, they have also performed on CCTV's Spring Festival Gala, the most-watched Chinese TV show. And, of course, they have made millions of people laugh. Meet the exponents of errenzhuan, a popular folk art form of Northeast China that involves singing and dancing, and is known for its humorous, improvisational and populist jokes.

The popularity of the comedians of Liaoning Folk Art Troupe exploded this year after they participated in the popular variety show, Happy Comedians, in which 10 groups of Chinese comic actors competed with each other. The Liaoning troupe emerged runners up at the end of the show in July.

Two months later, the troupe, led by Song Xiaobao and comprising Liu Xiaoguang, Shi Wensong and Yang Bing, landed in Beijing to announce its national tour, which started in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, on Sept 26 and will wind across more than 30 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, Sichuan province, till the end of December.