By Gerald Mak

Zhang Wei, 27, is a the guitarist and guzheng (traditional Chinese harp) player for the rock band, Cotton Clothes. He plays around Beijing in small, smoky bars for less than $10 a night, living off of his many foreign girlfriends. With his long hair and leather jacket, Zhang Wei looks the complete opposite of the soft-spoken and slightly pudgy Zhang Ran, 24, better known as DJ Mickey Zhang. Mickey is one of the highest paid DJs in China, earning almost $1,200 a night. It’s difficult to believe the two are brothers, especially considering that they rarely speak to each other.

Back in their hometown for the Chinese New Year, however, their love for each other is evident when they tearfully embrace each other and their father, a former Peking Opera star. Music runs in the Zhang family. Their hometown, Yinchuan, is the capital of Ningxia, one of the poorest provinces in China. The city itself is quite pleasant, but there is very little to do. There is also a heavy mafia influence here. Zhang Wei and many of his friends were often involved in petty crimes when they were young, and all of them have been to prison at one time or another (Mickey was sent to Beijing at the age of 12 to study dance, so he never got into any trouble). Video games and rock music are two of the only outlets for young people. Some, inspired by Cui Jian, the first Chinese rock musician, formed bands and left for Beijing to pursue better and more exciting lives.

This year, as Yinchuan natives return home for the holidays from all corners of the country, the lead singer of Cotton Clothes organized a rock festival where all of the local punk, metal, and rock bands play, to honor the 10th anniversary of rock and roll in Yinchuan. The opening night, as Zhang Wei takes the stage, his brother and parents are in the audience. Mr. Zhang, wearing his Chairman Mao button, beams with pride as the MC announces that Cotton Clothes have found great success in Beijing, and have returned to honor their hometown. The crowd, made up mostly of teenaged punks, also sees Cotton Clothes as homegrown rock heroes. The crowd goes crazy as the band takes the stage. They are in top form, playing in a big venue complete with lasers and dramatic lighting -- a far cry from the tiny bars of Beijing. The crowd knows all the songs, and they sing along. They finish their set and the audience roars with approval. Tonight is Zhang Wei’s night, but Mickey also has big things ahead. He will be touring Europe during the spring. It will be his first time abroad. The Zhang Brothers are among a new generation of Chinese who are no longer desperate to leave the country and who have the freedom to pursue their dreams without fear. They never experienced the Cultural Revolution or the campaign against “spiritual pollution” in the 1980s. They are too young to remember the horror of the massacre at Tiananmen Square. They live in a China where the entrepreneurial spirit is valued over the spirit of the proletariat -- a China where anything is possible.