Rare disorder

Zhou, the Trojan Fairy manager, joined the business in 2013 when he was still studying musicology at Beijing Union University, working first as a part-time waiter.

He was born with a rare retinal disorder that meant he could only sense extremely faint light.

When customers arrive at the restaurant to experience dining in the dark, he asks them to put their hands on his shoulders before leading them into the darkened room.

As they wait for food to be served, he chats and jokes with them to ease any fears they may have of the darkness. He also plays the piano and sings to lighten the atmosphere.

Yu said life for the blind is particularly tough. In most cases, they seem destined to work either as telephone operators or masseurs, but Zhou is an exception.

Zhou grew up at his grandfather's countryside home in Liaoning province. His grandfather was a music lover, and although he was not a proficient player or singer, he could perform on a variety of instruments. Zhou used to accompany him to a market, where they joined performances by rural drum and gong teams.

"It is one of my happiest childhood memories," he said, adding that it began to "sow the seeds of music" in his heart.

When he reached the first grade at school, although he was placed in the front row in class, Zhou could not see anything written on the blackboard, and was always second from last in every exam. The bottom-placed student had polio.

One afternoon after school in 2001, Zhou followed a classmate, who was a neighbor of his, back home as usual, holding on to the boy's schoolbag and struggling to keep pace with him.

It was already dark and very quiet, with only the sound of the wind blowing through the wheat as they walked through a field. Suddenly, the boy shook Zhou off for no reason. Zhou fell to the ground, but the boy ran off laughing.

Zhou was eventually found by his father, who took him home. After this incident, his parents decided to send him to a special school.