From folk songs to Fashion Week: One-legged singer redefines beauty

Before the age of nine, Erma Ayi never thought of herself as any different from her peers. She'd run, play and laugh with them and was always included in group activities. 

Then, one day after class, a boy pointed at her in front of everyone: "Look! She only has one leg!" In an instant, everyone turned to stare.

"A sharp pain pierced my heart at that moment, this was the first time I realized I was different from other children," she recalled, talking to CGTN.

"From then on, people would always stare at me curiously, both at school and outside."

Suddenly, she walked with her head down and avoided eye contact. The girl who once stood confidently and enjoyed being around others began to shrink, afraid of people watching the way she walked. In physical education class, she sat at the side while her classmates played. Some nights, she cried quietly, wondering why she'd been dealt such a bad hand in life.

Fast forward nearly three decades, Erma Ayi has reclaimed her confidence and found her voice – quite literally. Today she's a performer, with a particular passion for singing, and has a knack for modeling, most recently taking part in China Fashion Week.

"I began to accept my physical limitations and stopped walking with my head down. I gradually realized that most people looked at me with kindness, and I finally accepted my true self," she said.

Growing up in Lixian County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, Erma Ayi was just over 3 when she lost her leg after falling from a rooftop while playing with other children. A fracture, followed by a splint tied too tightly, cut off circulation and led to necrosis which eventually led to a high-level amputation of her right leg.

Despite this, her early childhood memories aren't of loss or feeling othered. In the village where she lived, children brought her along, cared for her and played with her as one of their own. She cut pig feed, ran, played games and moved through childhood with the same rhythm as everyone else.

Music became the first way back to herself. During one class, a teacher asked Erma Ayi to sing in front of everyone. Nervous, she began softly with a Qiang folk song. Her teacher urged her to raise her voice. When she finished, the room broke into applause.

"That was the first time I had received so much recognition, the first time I felt confident. Later, when I participated in school arts activities, my classmates were willing to help, and I gradually regained my confidence," she said.

After school, she went back to her village to work as a substitute teacher. Then one day, while watching television, she saw a disabled persons' art troupe perform. Erma Ayi had always loved singing, so she searched online for recruitment information and found that the Art Troupe of the Disabled Persons' Federation was hiring and applied immediately.

When she was 19, she moved to Chengdu and joined the troupe as a singer, a turning point in her life.

Public attention arrived by chance. In July 2014, at Beijing Capital International Airport, a staff member unintentionally photographed her from behind in a short skirt and high heels. The image spread online, and viewers were struck by the poise of a woman walking confidently on one leg. More recently, her Douyin account brought wider recognition, though she insists she never set out to chase traffic. She wanted only to record her life, share beauty and show how she moves through the world.

Now at 37, the Qiang singer has drawn attention online for her elegance, her high heels and her confidence.

The high heels began almost accidentally. A friend owned a pair of wedge heels that Erma Ayi admired, though she had always been afraid to try them. Would one heel look awkward? Would it make her proportions seem strange? Her friend encouraged her to slip one on. To her surprise, it felt better than she imagined. The next day, she bought the same style and wore it through a series of countryside performances. Her foot hurt terribly, but she endured it. Since then, heels have become part of her expression, a way of claiming fashion and her femininity.

"I'm just an ordinary person who loves beauty, loves life and dares to try the things I enjoy," she said.

Elegance, to her, begins with self-acceptance. It's not about pretending life is easy, but about dressing up, living well and allowing one's presence to become a quiet form of strength.

Erma Ayi owns a prosthetic leg, but because her amputation is high, it must be secured around her waist. For her, it is slow, uncomfortable and impractical, so she rarely uses it. Still, she hopes technology will one day offer better options for people with amputations like hers. Until then, she continues to navigate life in the way that works best for her.

Her daily life is more ordinary than what's seen online. She watches dramas, does housework, listens to music, trains her arms and shops for cosmetics, clothes, bags and shoes, and also plays badminton two or three times a week. Professionally, she remains first and foremost a singer, performing regularly and taking part in charitable and public welfare events when she can.

Success, for Erma Ayi, is not fame or attention. It is self-acceptance, continuing to sing, living earnestly and passing warmth to others where she can. She's written an original song, drawn from her own experience. It takes listeners on her journey from low self-esteem to confidence and highlights the love of her parents and the kindness she has received from society. She hopes to bring it to a larger stage one day.

To other differently-abled artists, she offers advice to keep being true to themselves.

"Believe in yourself, step forward bravely and do not set limits before you have even begun," she says.

And if there is one thing she hopes people will remember, it is not the shape of her body, but the freedom she has claimed for herself.

"What limits a person is never their body, but their mind," she says.

"No matter what circumstances we are in, we all have the right to love beauty, to shine, and to live the life we aspire to."