[Photo provided to China Daily]

"If I plan new concerts in China, I will go to Qingdao. And I will stay there for a few days after the concert and look at the beautiful sea."

His grandfather introduced him to music as a child, teaching him to play the accordion and walking several kilometers every day to take Vitas to a music school in a nearby village.

In 1999, he was discovered by his producer, Pudovkin, who invited Vitas to Moscow and helped launch his career.

At 23, Vitas rose to fame by performing at the Kremlin－h(huán)e was the youngest artist to do a solo concert at the venue. Vitas and his team prepared for nearly a year for the show and performed such songs as Opera No 2, Opera No 1, Cold Peace, Prelude and Circus, which Vitas called "The philosophy of the miracle".

He wrote those songs, which contain a mix of techno, classical, jazz and folk elements, when he was around 15. The concert was viewed by millions of Russians. Later he performed in the United States, Europe and Latin America.

The songs have also become famous among his Chinese fans.

Vitas says that he practices at least five hours every day. He still keeps in touch with two of his voice teachers.

"One of them is almost 70 years old－an amazing master of vocals－and he has lots of amazing tips for me to develop my skills. I try to visit him as often as possible," he says.

The singer's most difficult moment was when his mother died in 2001. He traveled to the Tibet autonomous region to overcome his loss.