Cui Renyu studied aircraft manufacturing at Northwestern Polytechnic University in Xi'an, Shaanxi province-but instead of constructing planes, he started creating indie music after graduation.

"I have been living my dreams. Nothing has been like what I expected it to be," says Cui, 36, who celebrated the 10th anniversary of his music label, Pocket Music, on Dec 28 with a concert titled The Beauty of Indie Music.

Eight indie singer-songwriters, including Zhang Qianqian, Zhao Zhao and Du Kun, who have released albums and held tours under Cui's record company, performed at the concert in Beijing.