Ulan Muqir Art Troupe from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region stages two shows in Beijing in May. (Zou Hong/China Daily)
The vastness of Inner Mongolia and the lack of entertainment options for people living there, made their lives lonely.
"The nomadic people were very excited about our visits," Nasun recalls. "We didn't have a formal stage. The audience just sat on the grass. Usually, the performances became a big party with local people joining in."
For him, the rewarding part about touring isn't just about sharing art with nomadic families but also about gaining inspiration for the music and dance.
During a tour in 1985, he went to a village and met an elderly local man, who told him a story about his friendship with a solider from Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning province, decades ago. The solider gave the old man a handmade saddle when they bid farewell.
The story inspired Nasun to write Carved Saddle, a song that later became one of his most popular numbers.
Now, every year, Nasun recruits young singers and dancers for the troupe. The troupe has also designed a new repertoire, which is mostly based on the daily lives of Mongolian people, especially the lives of nomadic families, and has combined contemporary musical elements with folk songs of the region.
Haimu, a 25-year-old khoomei (a local variant of overtone singing) singer, joined the troupe three years ago. Along with a six-member band, he performs fast songs and soft ones that he writes－all while playing the horse-head fiddle.
"Although I learned the piano since childhood and grew up listening to various kinds of music, to me, the folk music of Inner Mongolia is the root," he says.
"Performing in remote villages is pleasant. I feel at home on the boundless grasslands, and the warm people there make me feel fulfilled."
