A Youduo, a young woman known as 'the Miao nightingale' starred in a performance of the Wind of Colorful Guizhou in late April this year at the Beizhan Theater in Beijing . The song and dance program the Wind of Colorful Guizhou showcases typical theater pieces of different Chinese ethnic groups such as Han, Miao, BuYi, Dong, Yi, GeLao, and Shui. The program has won praise nationwide for its performance of traditional customs and acrobatic stunts, often thousands of years old. Dong Ka Lau or the Dong people's Mixed Chorus is known as 'the harmony of heaven', while in the Sound of Cicadas peasants who learned singing from childhood sing of the Dong people's culture with clear voices -- the home of poems, and the sea of songs.

 A Youduo Breezes the Wind of Colorful Guizhou

A Youduo, a popular and prominent Miao ethnic minority singer sang The Plateau, My Hometown to start the show. She uses her performance as a way to show the audience around her hometown, introducing different costumes, ceremonies and the lifestyles of different ethnic groups along the way.

 Making a brand of Wind of Colorful Guizhou

The Wind of Colorful Guizhou is specially designed to promote Guizhou's tourism industry and the culture of its ethnic minorities. The performance in Beijing is the latest edition which consists of dancing and singing from 17 ethnic groups. The performance was made possible by the hard work Guizhou's art elites and substantial contributions from famous director Ding Wei, composer Li Cangsang, choreographer Ju Yi and others.

The previous edition of the play was performed on 1st October last year. It has been performed 70 times to more than 50,000 spectators, earning a total income of 2.5 million RMB. Last December, members of the Guizhou Singing & Dancing Troupe rewrote the story and completely changed the costumes and the sets. The first performance of the new edition won high acclaim on 23rd January this year at the Beijing Road Theatre in GuiYang, the capital of Guizhou Province . Wan Guangwei, the vice chairman of the Guizhou Singing & Dancing Troupe said: 'The 20 dances in the new version are redesigned, and the movements are more difficult than before. It requires lots of practice, and all the dancers worked very hard. '

The Wind of colorful Guizhou is at the core of the series promotion 'Colorful Guizhou' designed to build up Guizhou's cultural image and promote it throughout the country. Vice secretary general of the Guizhou Province Committee, Wang Fuyu said: 'this play is the culture stamp of Guizhou. It reflects Guizhou's image, and can introduce Guizhou to the whole country, and accelerate the development of Guizhou's tourist industry.'

 Introducing the Intangible Cultural Heritage

The play is a visual and audio feast. The sets, lighting, costumes and impressive performances give audiences a vivid image of the intangible cultural heritage of the ethnic people's lives in Guizhou.

In the Congjiang Valley of Guizhou, there is a Basha Miao village known as 'the last tribe of gunmen'. Although there is no longer any need to hunt, men there still carry swords and spears, like in ancient hunting times. Their dance in the play The Plateau, My Hometown gives audiences a vivid picture of the 'gunmen tribe'.