Coming into its own

Once little-known in Beijing, jazz is finding its Chinese soul thanks to some dedicated musicians, Chen Nan reports.

The area around Beijing's Houhai Lake, which is known for bars, ice skating and traditional hutongs, is cold and quiet on this late winter afternoon. A nearby second-floor bar, East Shore Live Jazz Cafe, by contrast, is full of excitement.

Liu Yuan, the owner of the bar, the city's only venue completely dedicated to jazz, is catching up with his old friend Luo Ning, a Chinese jazz pianist who has just returned from Cape Town, South Africa.