Wan Xiaoli
Wan Xiaoli is a folk-rock singer, song-writer, guitarist, and harmonica player from China. He is originally from Ci County, Handan, Hebei.
Wan Xiaoli was born on October 15, 1971, in Handan, Hebei Province. Raised in a rural environment, he developed an early affinity for music, teaching himself harmonica as a child after finding one at home. After graduating from a local technical college in 1991, Wan worked at a winery in his hometown while picking up guitar playing. During this time, he married and had a daughter, Wan Chang, who later contributed vocals to his recordings. In 1997 when he was 26, he moved to Beijing with his guitar and began to make a life as a bar musician. In 2014 he moved south and settled at the suburb of Hangzhou.
He has released five studio albums.
Wan was grouped with Zhou Yunpeng as a "realistic" songwriter conscious of societal changes and circumstances around the crowd. His 2002 song "Laid Off" gave a raw depiction of factory worker unemployment, reflecting 1990s state-owned enterprise reforms.