The winners of the best popularity award pose for a group photo after the performance. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The city of Quzhou – located in East China's Zhejiang province – recently staged a competition for original songs, as part of a wider campaign to raise the profile of the metropolis.

The event – sponsored by local authorities and Kugou, a leading social media platform of digital music – was called the 2021 Peak Night of Youth in China · Virtuous Quzhou National College Students' Original Song Competition and it was held on Oct 18, according to local media reports.

In a bid to support young talent, the competition encouraged college students with musical aspirations to set foot on stage. It also established a music fund of 200,000 yuan ($31,338) and inaugurated a best singing award, a best composition award, Top 10 finalist awards and a most popular song award.  

A total of 10 college students, who are young song writers and performers of note, reportedly regaled the audience with an exciting variety of original chinoiserie music during the event.

Earlier in the year, in response to the organizers calling for entries in April, a total of more than 2,000 pieces of original music were received. A large number of international students from South Korea, the US and Australia also participated, helping to spread the word about "Virtuous Quzhou" to young people everywhere.