Xibei feng

Xibei feng, the Northwest Wind, was the dominant style of mainland Chinese popular music in the late 1980s: songs built from the folk melodies of the loess plateau of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu, delivered at fast tempos over aggressive synthesizer and drum-machine backing. Against the soft, sentimental gangtai pop imported from Hong Kong and Taiwan, Northwest Wind songs such as "Xintianyou" sounded raw and masculine, sung in open-throated folk style about the yellow earth, poverty and belonging. The style's peak ran from roughly 1986 to 1989, launched *Cui Jian*'s career, and opened the road to Chinese rock.