Cui Jian

The second person on our list is Cui Jian, often known as "the grandfather of Chinese rock," who is honored all around China for his contributions to Chinese rock music. He is totally deserving of the title "one of the most famous Chinese singers".

Cui Jian was raised in Beijing - the capital of China - by parents who were already highly immersed in music. He spent his childhood there. Both of his parents had careers in the performing arts; his dad played the trumpet, while his mom danced. Cui Jian took after both of them. Because of this, the fact that Jian evolved into the forward-thinking artist he is today should not come as a surprise to anybody.

Jian started off his musical career by receiving instruction in classical music, but he didn't start learning how to play the guitar until he was far over the age of 20. The first time he heard Western rock music, it opened his eyes to a whole new world of art, and nothing could stop the man from creating his own unique kind of music after that.

Cui Jian got the inspiration for his music from some of the most well-known rock performers of the 1980s; hence, he was one of the first people in China to perform a style of rock music that is unique even to this day.

Born: 1961

Famous songs: Nothing To My Name, A Piece of Red Cloth