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At the audition for this year's Voice of Minhang·Singer Contest, a foreign performer in a yellow suit sang softly while playing the guitar, instantly catching everyone's attention. He is Daniel, the only foreign singer-songwriter in this year's Singer Contest.

"I have lived and worked in Huacao for nearly eight years. I love everything here. I love Chinese culture, and I also deeply cherish Chinese culture, as well as the early childhood education profession that I pursue."

However, about eight years ago, when Daniel first came to China, he could only speak two Chinese words. Today, Daniel can not only speak Chinese fluently, compose Chinese songs, but also pick up more life skills.

"I remember when I first started teaching at Morgan Kindergarten, the only Chinese I could say was 'Ni Hao' and 'Xie Xie'. One time the kids wanted some water, but they gestured for ages and I still wasn't getting it. From that moment on, I made up my mind to learn Chinese. Now, not only can I have simple conversations in Chinese, but I've also learned how to shop on Taobao and order takeout on Meituan. Today I can write song lyrics in Chinese."

What charm does the city have that keeps an American here for eight years? He gives a down-to-earth answer.

"Ten years ago when I lived in the USA, I always loved to play the guitar and sing. And to my surprise, when I arrived in Shanghai, China, I was able to continue pursuing my passion in music. As for the conveniences Huacao offers me, there are simply too many to list. There are bilingual signs everywhere, and the community center frequently organizes activities for expat families, so I never feel lonely. Plus, there's a small park right below my building. I can walk to the supermarket and to the gym in just ten minutes. The neighborhood is very safe, so I often walk home alone at night after playing the guitar, completely without worry. This deep sense of belonging has blossomed into cross-border friendship and cultural resonance, giving birth to an original song that blends Chinese and Western elements and showcases cultural communication. We both love Huacao deeply, so we wrote this song together — 'I Love Huacao'. Given the fitting atmosphere, we decided to enter the competition together. After all, bilingual songs blending Chinese and Western styles aren't so common in competitions. It is also an original song, and we hope everyone will enjoy it."

The creation drew on all the strengths of Huacao and local place names, using homophonic techniques in the lyric. The whole tune is gentle and melodious, and filled with positive vibes. It encourages people to strive forward and keep creating.

When it comes to the upcoming contest, Daniel says ranking is not the main goal. Singing sincerely on stage and sharing his musical passion with the crowd is success enough. He has more plans for the future: opening a music story corner and writing more songs about Shanghai.

"Next year I plan to launch a music story corner at Morgan Kindergarten, where I'll sing along to English picturebooks with the children every week, accompanied by my guitar. I also want to write more songs about Shanghai and Huacao, like 'Four Seasons in Huacao' and 'Morgan's little train'. Music and early childhood education shouldn't be separated in the first place. Songs help children remember words. I hope that every child I've taught, when looking back on their childhood as adults, will remember the American teacher strumming a guitar and singing. Now it's time for Maggie and I to participate in the competition. I hope you'll all wish us luck."

Now let's look forward to him using his guitar to sing out the warmth and charm of this town in the following performances.

在今年“聲動閔行 我是歌王”市民歌手爭霸賽海選現場，一位身著黃色西裝，撥動吉他弦深情彈唱的外籍選手，吸引了全場目光。他叫王達維，是本屆比賽中唯一一名原創外籍歌手。

“我住在上海華漕快八年了，工作在華漕八年了。我愛這里的一切。我熱愛中國文化，熱愛自己所追求的幼教事業。”

八年前，王達維剛來中國的時候還只會說兩個中文詞匯。如今，王達維不僅能流利地講中文，寫中文歌，還解鎖了更多生活技能。

“我記得第一次來到摩根幼兒園教學的時候，我只會說‘你好’‘謝謝’。有一次這里的孩子告訴我想喝水，但他們比畫了半天我也不明白要干嗎。自那時起，我下定決心學習中文。現在，我不僅能用中文進行簡單對話，我還學會了在淘寶購物，在美團點外賣。如今我能用中文寫歌了。”

這座城市到底有什么魅力，讓一個美國人待了八年不愿離開？

他的回答樸實真切：“十年前我還在美國的時候，我就很愛吉他彈唱。驚喜的是，來到中國上海，我依然能盡情追尋音樂夢想。我在華漕享受到的便利，數不勝數。這兒到處是雙語標識，社區中心經常組織外籍家庭參加各類活動，我從未感到孤單。而且我家樓下就是小公園，步行十分鐘就能到超市和健身房。小區治安特別好，所以我經常晚上彈完吉他，獨自回家，完全不必擔心。這份深深的城市歸屬感，化作跨國情誼與文化共鳴，催生了一首中西交融、承載文化交流意義的原創歌曲。我們彼此都非常熱愛華漕，所以我們就寫了這首歌曲——《我愛華漕》。在這個很應景的氣氛下，我們決定一起參賽。畢竟這種中西結合、雙語的這種歌曲還是比較少的，然后又是原創歌曲，也希望大家能夠喜歡。”

整首歌曲創作巧思十足，創作者巧用諧音手法，將華漕的風土特色與本地地名融入歌詞。曲目旋律溫婉，基調積極向上，“我們要努力去奮斗，我們要努力去創造” 的歌詞，更是傳遞出滿滿的正能量。

這首歌曲巧思十足，把華漕的優點特色、本地地名融入歌曲，用諧音的方式展現。旋律柔和、氛圍昂揚，“我們要努力去奮斗，我們要努力去創造” 的歌詞，盡顯積極向上的態度。

對于即將到來的比賽，王達維坦言名次不是最重要的，能夠站在舞臺上唱響熱愛，讓更多人聽到自己的音樂心聲，這本身就是一種勝利。而他對未來還有更多計劃：開設音樂故事角，寫更多關于上海的歌。

“明年我計劃在摩根幼兒園開設音樂故事角，每周我都會伴著吉他，和孩子們一起唱英文繪本歌謠。我還想創作更多關于上海華漕的歌曲，比如《華漕四季》《摩根小火車》。音樂與幼教本就相輔相成，不可分割。歌曲能幫孩子記住詞匯。我希望我教過的每一個孩子，長大后回望童年時，能記得有一位美國老師彈著吉他這樣唱。現在我們要去參賽了，大家祝我們好運哦。”

期待接下來的賽程中，他將用吉他彈唱出這座小鎮的溫度與魅力。

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Reported by Guo Xinruo, Lu Qianchen

Edited by Shi Sijia

Reviewed by Liu Kenbo, Xue Weikan