Light and graceful, the sound of strings

If you don’t watch the Xianzi Dance, you don’t count as going to Batang

Once in Batang County

A unique sculpture comes into view

A man and a woman in national costumes

Holding a stringed hu and swinging the water sleeves, dancing gracefully

This is the national intangible cultural heritage - Batang Xianzi

Batang is located in the west of Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province, bordering the Tibet Autonomous Region. It is the only place where National Highway 318 passes. It enters Tibet by crossing the Jinsha River Bridge in Batang County. Batang is an ethnic minority inhabited mainly by Tibetans. It used to be the White Wolf Country, and now it is the hometown of Xianzi in China. Because of its warm climate and rich products, it is known as the south of the Kham River.

Batang is the border county of Sichuan and Tibet. It is the junction of Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet. The altitude of Batang County is about 2500 meters. It is under the jurisdiction of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province. Batang was a small country in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It was called the White Wolf Country, and was defeated by Tubo and integrated into Tibetan culture.

"Xianzi" is "Gaxie" in Tibetan, which means circle dance. It has a history of thousands of years and is one of the three major Tibetan dances. Every festive festival, gathering, camping, and spare time of work, people will gather in "Linka" (forest clearing) or Bazi to dance the string dance.

In 2006, Batang Xianzi was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list by the Ministry of Culture with the approval of the State Council, and Batang County was named "Hometown of Chinese Folk Art (Xianzi)" by the Ministry of Culture in 2000 . In 2012, Batang County built the first intangible cultural heritage database in Ganzi Prefecture - Batang Xianzi Database, which collected and sorted nearly 2,000 string words and nearly 300 music scores.

It is known that there is an old artist in Batang named Peng Tao, who collected a lot of lyrics and music of Batang Xianzi at that time, and he tried his best to publish a book for his descendants. However, due to his limited ability and financial problems, until his death, his dream could not be realized. After Peng Tao's death, his son, Luosang, who was the director of the Batang County People's Congress at the time, saw some handwritten manuscripts collected by his father for decades when he was sorting out his father's relics, all of which were records of Batang Xianzi. Thought: Since Dad has the wish to do this thing, he will carry on and strive to make this thing a reality. He applied to the county and asked to be a researcher. His main task was to try to collect as many strings as possible in Batang County and organize them into a book. The Batang County Party Committee and Government gave him active support. The conditions were very difficult at that time, and Lausanne went to the urban area, the southern district, and the eastern district to collect relevant information on Batang Xianzi. Without a vehicle, he hitchhiked, took a tractor, rode a horse, etc. to go from village to household to collect and sort out. This has been going on for more than 10 years, and finally he collected nearly 2,000 Batang xianzici. Later, a musician named Ma Langjie joined in and collected together with Lausanne, and finally collected and sorted out nearly 300 scores of Batang Xianzi (including urban, eastern and southern districts). These more than 300 music scores and more than 2,000 lyrics have left valuable first-hand information for Batang Xianzi, and have also been included in the database of singing and dancing in Ganzi Prefecture.

On May 16, 2011, the recording work of Batang Xianzi Audio Library, Batang Xianzi Library Thesaurus and Music Library was officially launched in Chengdu. On this day, Gesang Lobu, Ma Langjie, Luosang, and Tashi, four stringed Hu players, carried four exquisite stringed Hus hand-made by Comrade Tashi, the provincial intangible heritage inheritor of Batang Xianzi, and entered China Record Company. Recording studio of the Chengdu branch; under the guidance of Mr. Luo Liang, a middle-singing recording engineer, began to record the Xianhu music part of Batang Xianziku. After nearly 20 days of hard work, with the concerted efforts of the four string hu players, 121 pieces of Batang xianzi xianhu music were recorded, and teacher Gesang Lobu and the sound engineer completed the composition of the string hu music. The first stage of the audio library of Batang Xianzi Library is progressing smoothly. The quality and original style of the handmade traditional Xianhu and local first-class Xianhu players are guaranteed.

Batang Xianzi is famous, where is the name? First of all, it is "old" and has a history of more than a thousand years. Secondly, its dance music is beautiful, with the characteristics of "long-sleeved and good at dancing", and it integrates poetry, qin, song and dance. During the performance, several men hold the stringed instrument "Biwang" (huqin) to play the lead dancer in front of the team. Three or five people can dance together, or hundreds of people can dance together. The xianzi dance must be accompanied by Tibetan erhu, with the qin player as the core and the rhythm controlled by the qin player. The tunes are generally short and sharp, with neat rhythm and beautiful melody. The songs are easy to sing and remember, and each piece of music can be repeated more than ten times.

Due to the differences in geographical environment and traffic conditions of various villages in the territory, Batang Xianzi has different styles and characteristics. For example, the strings in the central cashmere district are lively, vigorous, vigorous, unrestrained, powerful, and vigorous;

Batang Xianzi has a long history, but due to cultural differences, many people in the outside world have very limited understanding of Xianzi. In order to better promote and inherit the Xianzi culture, in recent years, Batang County has used the Chengdu International Intangible Cultural Heritage Festival, the West Expo, and the Agricultural Expo Batang Xianzi will be displayed on platforms such as the Fair and Shenzhen Cultural Expo. On the other hand, let "Batang Xianzi" enter the campus. For example, Hongqi Primary School in Batang County has opened a "Children's Xianzi Training Center".

The stringed Hu is melodious and the sleeves are flying

I see you sitting alone under the ancient mulberry boulder

Holding the stringed Hu in hand, singing softly and slowly

I will dance beside you, red sleeves add fragrance

past life present life future life

A string of strings, love for a lifetime

Let's meet in Batang,

It all started...

Travel Tips:

"Hidden Paradise" - Cuopugou

Spring, autumn, winter and summer, the four seasons change, I personally think that the best tourist season in Cuopugou is the whole year, as long as you bring a heart willing to feel and a pair of eyes to discover beauty, the scenery in any season is the best.

2. Leisure and entertainment:

If you live in Batang County, the Zangxiang Youyou Ecological Garden, located in Hexi Village, Batang, offers Chinese food and Tibetan food, and you can taste local specialties.

3. Tips:

You can prepare some change for the grandfather who feeds the Tibetan chickens. He will buy food to feed the nearby wild animals. In summer, you can even see cute groundhogs.

friendly reminder:

Since Cuopugou has not yet opened, the road facilities have not yet been perfected. Pay attention to the editor's information and convey the opening news to you as soon as possible.

Homestay recommendation:

Batang yard, the perfect combination of traditional Tibetan village and modern minimalist wooden house, a wooden house, enjoy a piece of world