Yang Xiangni, the founder of a Dong ethnic minority chorus in southwest China's Guizhou Province, never imagined those melodies sung by her ancestors could link to a stunning show in a blockbuster Chinese animation.

In a mesmerizing scene in "Ne Zha 2," the fifth highest-grossing film globally, a Chinese lotus gradually blooms while a traditional melody swells in the background. The music breathes life into the visuals, filling Dong people, like Yang, with immense pride and love for their musical heritage.

The grand song of the Dong ethnic group has echoed through the ages. Revered as a soulful art form, it draws inspiration from the natural flow of life, mimicking bird sounds, the pattering of rains and the gentle rush of rivers.

In Guizhou, singing the grand song of the Dong is more than a performance for the Dong people; it also serves as a way for them to express their hopes, dreams, and feelings.

After graduating from the Academy of Music of Guizhou University in 2020, Yang worked as an art training teacher for two years before returning to her hometown to promote ethnic minority culture.

One year later, Yang established the chorus, finding a way to combine her hobbies of singing Dong songs with the opportunities brought by the Village Super League, a grassroots football carnival in Guizhou. She made cultural inheritance her life-long career and also answered the country's calls to revitalize traditional culture.

Yang started her touch with the Dong performance art at age six and learned the grand song in primary school. She gave an innovative performance of her ancestors' music by joining hands with rock music during their shows at the opening ceremony of the Guizhou Village Super League.

"Positive changes and innovations make the grand song of the Dong well-known. Thus, traditional Chinese music goes further and is alive," said Yang.

Mu Qian, who got his PhD in ethnomusicology from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, was one of the promoters of the grand song of the Dong, making it echo in ears outside China.

In 2019, a music album titled "Wanp-Wanp Jangl Kap" in Dong ethnic dialect, namely "Everyone, Listen Close," made a wave of Chinese ethnic minorities' music on the world stage. It was selected by the Transglobal World Music Chart as the Best Asia & Pacific album of the 2019-2020 season and broadcast by more than 10 radio stations.

The music album producer, Mu, got the golden chance to promote this art form globally, bringing the chorus of Dong touring to several U.S. cities and holding 10 concerts in September of the same year when the album was published.

Welcoming a recent handshake between "Ne Zha 2" and the grand song of the Dong, Mu feels pleasure to see the mix of all art forms, thus raising the popularity of the grand song.

"I expect more original works by Dong artists to appear in the music market. Seeing their trails and marks on world stages, I also anticipate a delicate balance between ethnic characteristics and market trends," Mu added. 

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