Ethnic musicians in Guizhou aim to preserve their culture

In recent months, the Bouyei Xiaoda music performance team from Pu'an county of Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture in Guizhou province has delivered more than dozen performances to appreciative audiences.

Bouyei Xiaoda music is a folk instrumental ensemble style found in the Bouyei villages of Pu'an. It integrates musical instruments such as the erhu (a two-stringed bow), the xiao (a vertical bamboo flute) and the yueqin (a four-stringed plucked instrument with a moon-shaped soundbox), along with wood pieces and bowls for percussion.

Musicians play the instruments by blowing, plucking, strumming and striking. The style, developed by the Bouyei people, has been listed as a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage.

The team is made up of around 30 musicians from Xizhai and Lianmeng villages, with the youngest being only 10 years old and the oldest being 60.

In recent years, the county has increased its efforts to protect ethnic cultures and promote their dynamic transformation. It has created several traditional festival cultural brands and shifted the tourism industry from superficial sightseeing to experiential tourism, highlighting ethnic culture.