Due to the pandemic, Fang took a gap year and returned to China, where he held charity concerts in Xiamen before participating in the international piano competition.

Fang says he had learned about the competition a long time ago.

"It's true that every competitor wants to get prizes but the experience of learning new pieces and making progress in my performances matters most to me," says Fang.

Fantasie, Op28 by Russian composer Scriabin was new to him but he chose to perform it in the first round because "the piece is very beautiful and emotional, which inspired me to give it a try".

Wang Zixiang is another first-time Chinese contestant. "I am 29 years old and reaching the age limit of the competition. It was a surprise that I could enter the first round," he says.

Wang got his musical arts doctorate from the University of Michigan in 2020 before returning to his hometown of Wuhan in Hubei province.

During the first round of the competition, Wang performed Keyboard Sonata in D minor, K9 by Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti and Gaspard de la nuit by French composer Maurice Ravel.

"Besides concentrating on my music, I can get to know lots of young, talented pianists during the competition. It's really a great experience to open my eyes and my mind," adds Wang.

The Leeds International Piano Competition has attracted some of the world's finest young pianists since its debut in 1963.

In 2018, the first rounds were held in Berlin, New York and Singapore. That year the competition was broadcast online for the first time, attracting over 1 million views in more than 190 countries, according to Adam Gatehouse, the artistic director of the competition.

This year, 264 pianists from 44 countries applied for the competition, including 68 participants from China, an increase of 43 percent in the number of overall contestants compared to 2018.

After a preselection, 63 pianists from 28 countries were chosen to compete in the first round, with 44 percent selected from East Asia. Among them, 11 are Chinese.

The second round, semifinals and finals of the 2021 competition will be held from Sept 8 to 18 in Leeds, England. The organizers say they hope it will be in front of a live audience.

The winners will be taken on by Askonas Holt, a global artist management agency, and given recording opportunities with Warner Classics, the BBC and medici.tv. The three top prizewinners will be included in recitals and concerts by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and performances at Wigmore Hall in London.

"The classical music scene in China is so exciting and vibrant, and there are so many wonderful young musicians coming out of China that we want to be part of that, in particular to offer our winners opportunities to play there," says Gatehouse.