Nation mourns death of singer, mentor Liu Huan

For decades, Liu Huan's melodic voice was a familiar soundtrack across China.

It could fill a stadium, carry a national celebration or rise from the soundtrack of a television drama.

Liu, one of China's best-known singer-songwriters and music educators, died in Shanghai on Friday morning at the age of 63.

The news was announced the following day by the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, where Liu taught for more than three decades.

Born in Tianjin in 1963, Liu studied French literature at the University of International Relations in Beijing from 1981 to 1985. He joined UIBE in 1991, where he taught Western music history and later became an associate professor. He retired in 2023.

His university obituary described him first as a retired teacher and then as a household name in music — a pairing that perhaps best captured the two sides of his life.

His death has sparked an outpouring of grief and remembrance.

On Saturday, singer Na Ying paid tribute to Liu during a concert in Chengdu, Sichuan province, singing Crescent Moon, one of his best-known songs.

"My mentor and friend, Liu Huan, who made an enormous contribution to and helped advance Chinese pop music, has left us," she told the audience. "I want to sing a song he once performed to pay tribute to him."

Chinese director Zhang Yimou also mourned Liu through his studio's official Weibo account.

"Upon learning of Liu Huan's passing, I cannot help but feel saddened. You and Me continues to be sung, while its sound and spirit will forever remain at the Bird's Nest," the post said.

Liu performed You and Me, the theme song of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, alongside British soprano Sarah Brightman at the opening ceremony on Aug 8, which was held at Beijing National Stadium, famously known as the Bird's Nest. Composed by Chen Qigang, the song was performed atop a giant globe before a global TV audience and became one of the defining musical moments of the Games.

Liu first rose to prominence in the 1980s with songs including The Sun in My Heart and Young Aspiration Knows No Sorrow, before becoming closely associated with some of China's most popular TV dramas.

His rich, resonant voice became particularly recognizable through songs such as Time and Time Again, the theme song of the 1993 hit TV drama show A Native of Beijing in New York, and the Heroes' Song, from the 1998 TV adaptation of the Water Margin.

His music also became part of some of the country's most significant cultural moments. In 1990, he performed Mighty Winds of Asia with singer Wei Wei for the Beijing Asian Games.

In 2014, he sang La Vie en Rose with French actress Sophie Marceau at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala. His work for television also included Flying Phoenix, associated with the hit 2011 drama Empresses in the Palace.

As a mentor, Liu helped bring a new generation of singers and songwriters to a national audience.

In 2012, he accepted the invitation to become a mentor on The Voice of China. Among the young singers he supported was Jike Junyi, an ethnic Yi singer.

Fourteen years later, Jike Junyi remembered how Liu Huan's decision to turn his chair toward her, signaling his recognition of her performance and giving her a chance to join his team, changed her life.

"Your turning around completely changed the fate of a little girl," she wrote after his death on her Weibo account, which has over 16 million followers. "She stumbled and staggered her way to today. It was you who lifted up the life of a little girl."

Liu's commitment to nurturing original music became even clearer in 2014, when he served as a mentor on Sing My Song, a program devoted to original compositions. The show brought then little-known singers, including Zhao Lei and Su Yunying, into stardom.

In 2019, he established the Liu Huan Original Music Fund, donating 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) of his own money to support young Chinese-language singer-songwriters.

On Dec 31, 2025, Liu appeared as the closing act at the Bilibili New Year's Eve Gala in Shanghai — his final major public performance. On a freezing outdoor stage, he sang I Wish to Be Immortal, a song associated with the TV series Journey to the West: The Sequel, and Time and Time Again. Despite the biting cold, Liu sang as young people in the audience joined him.