Chinese piano prodigy Zhang Shengliang, nicknamed Niu Niu, received the Prix Montblanc 2010 in Germany on October 6.

Born into a family of musicians in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province on July 11, 1997, Zhang showed his talent for classical music at a very young age. He received his first piano lessons at 3 and made his concert debut at 6. After displaying early brilliance in mastering Bach's sophisticated Goldberg Variations at 9, he was awarded the Young Artist of the Year 2009 award at Germany's Festival der Nationen at 12.

As the youngest person to have recorded all of Chopin's etudes, Zhang's staggering technical skills and his unprecedented musical maturity have stunned equally critics and the public.

In 2007, Zhang signed with the renowned music company EMI, becoming the company's youngest exclusive contracted pianist. The CD Niu Niu Plays Chopin: The Complete Etudes was released in May 2010, following his first Niu Niu Plays Mozart in 2008.

Zhang has been studying in the Walnut Hill School for the Arts at the New England Conservatory in Boston since September under the tutelage of his mentor William Chen. Besides the piano, Zhang is also interested in the violin, conducting and composing.