Chinese dramas and films

On July 10, 2026, actor Qin Tianyu («Fated Hearts», «The Starry Love») released his first solo single. Titled «但见孤山» (Dan Jian Gu Shan) – which translates as "But I See the Lonely Mountain" – the release was timed to coincide with the actor's birthday and serves as a major gift for his fans.

Alongside the single, Qin published a behind-the-scenes video documenting the making of the track, as well as a series of promotional photos in which he appears as a fantasy warrior wielding a sword. He also hosted a live stream lasting over an hour.

On Weibo, the actor wrote:

"I see only the lonely mountain, but not a lonely heart. With this spirit of the wandering warrior, I mark my birthday; and with this journey through mountains and rivers, I set out on the next stage of my path."

Qin Tianyu turned 33 – what in Russia is often referred to as the "age of Christ." In Russian cultural tradition, 33 is considered a pivotal, life-changing milestone, after which everything is supposed to be different.

Read more: Qin Tianyu: the mad emperor and a rising star 

The song is composed in the guofeng style – a genre rooted in traditional Chinese aesthetics. Unfortunately, full access to the track is currently limited to users with accounts on QQ Music, Kugou Music, and Kuwo Music – platforms rarely used in Russia.

However, there is a workaround: mobile users can visit the actor's Weibo page, tap the QQ Music link (the small triangle icon), select Mi Browser, and the link should open – at least, owners of Chinese-brand smartphones may have some luck.

The official description of the song on QQ Music reads as follows:

"Rain patters on the tea house, lamp shadows flicker. Wanderers of the rivers and lakes come and go, their stories settling at the bottom of cups.

Suddenly, a string vibrates – like a blade cutting through the night, startling the silence in the hall.

He once walked against the wind in the crowd, met victories and defeats with a smile in desperate situations, never regretted, never bowed his head.

And now, in the desolate mountains, drinking alone, he still sings aloud – for heaven and earth, and for himself.

If the world refuses to follow his will, he will set his own rhythm.

Qin Tianyu's first solo song, delivered in his clear and heartfelt voice, paints the freest stroke onto this portrait of courage and perseverance – and it is sung for every one of us who wanders alone across the vast expanse."

The song's title is an almost verbatim quotation from a poem by Fang Yue, a poet of the Southern Song dynasty (13th century).

Here is the full text:

西湖天下奇绝处，定有老仙时下观。
重来俯仰已陈迹，但见孤山烟雾漫。

"West Lake – the most wondrous place under heaven –
Surely an old immortal sometimes comes down to gaze upon it.
But when I return and look around, all has turned to dust.
I see only the Lonely Mountain, shrouded in mist and haze."

The lines evoke the transience of time, the fragility of fame, and a quiet melancholy – a sense that past glory has dissolved into fog and silence.

The mountain itself - 孤山 (Gushan) - is a real place at the center of West Lake in Hangzhou. In Chinese literature, it is firmly associated with seclusion, noble solitude, and withdrawal from the bustle of the world. The famous poet Lin Bu (10th–11th century) lived there in retirement, devoting himself to poetry and the contemplation of plum blossoms and cranes. The mountain became a symbol of a life dedicated to art, contemplation, and spiritual independence.

An unexpected parallel exists in Western literature as well: the Lonely Mountain – Erebor – from J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium. It is a place of great secrets and dangers, a symbol of a lost homeland and a perilous quest. Interestingly, in Chinese translations of Tolkien's works, the Lonely Mountain is also frequently rendered as «孤山» (Gushan).

The symbolism of a sacred or otherwise significant mountain is present in nearly every culture: Mount Meru (Hinduism and Buddhism), Mount Olympus (Greece), Golgotha, Mount Zion and Mount Ararat (all Judeo-Christian traditions), Mount Fuji (Japan), the poetic Mont Blanc (for Byron, Shelley, and other 19th-century European Romantics), and Mount Kazbek and the Caucasus mountains generally for Russian literature.

And finally, another symbolic parallel with russian culture is contained in the line: "If the world refuses to follow his will, he will set his own rhythm." Any russian, even through the clumsiest auto-translation, will instantly recognise the  echo of a famous song-line: "It's not worth bending to the changing world, let it bend to us instead".

Song & Photoes

 

Single Recording BTS

 

Photoes

Sources1, 2, 3

Sources