"We were there last year and did four arenas of 15,000 each," Kian Egan told Hot Press. "They were great gigs. This time around, we'll be doing 15 shows, and the arenas are the same size, so it's amazing. Those venues are similar to the ones we're be doing in the UK."

Opening in Beijing on February 22, the band also takes in dates in Hangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Chengdu and Guangzhou.

"We broke through there with 'You Raise Me Up', which was in 2005 and 2006," Egan added. "We hadn't been back till last year, but this is a phenomenal step up. The language barrier doesn't seem to make any difference – they still sing the words to all the songs."

China is going through an economic boom at the moment, which is driving a process of change in what was once a forbidding territory.

"They're planning to build fifty-five airports there over the next ten years," Egan revealed. "It is a measure of just how quickly things are changing."

In a time of economic difficulty, it is a whole new world of opportunity for the music industry. Watch this space.