Sowing seeds of art

On the grasslands of Sonid Right Banner in Xiliin Gol League, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the sound of the morin khuur (a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument also known as the horsehead fiddle) echoes through the morning mist.

Oyunjargal, a morin khuur player and a khoomei (throat-singing) performer with the Ulan Muqir, or Red Bud Troupe, has prepared meticulously for the day's performance. He has worked with the troupe for 13 years and traveled across the banner's seven towns and 58 villages.

"Our performances go to every place where herders live," Oyunjargal says. He and fellow troupe members load their instruments and sound equipment onto a flow stage bus and drive to a border guard station, bringing cultural performances to border patrol stations and remote herding communities.

Their shows combine songs, dancing and acting, drawing inspiration from the daily lives of the local people. Beyond performing, the troupe has also collected more than 500 folk songs, especially those closely linked to the pastoral lifestyle of Mongolian nomads.

Among the dancers in the troupe, Esnil is the youngest. After college, she chose to return to the grasslands rather than settle in the city. "I was born in a herdsman family, so I wanted to dance for the herdsmen," Esnil says. Nowadays, she not only performs in rural areas with the troupe, but also goes to primary schools to teach children to dance and tell stories about the troupe.

Founded in 1957 in Sonid Right Banner, the first Ulan Muqir troupe quickly earned local acclaim. The success inspired many similar troupes, bringing thousands of performances to remote communities.

Today, the region has 75 troupes. They travel from one site to another to entertain herdsmen who live in some of the country's remotest areas.

Local authorities support Ulan Muqir's growth through funding, by providing mobile performance buses, and by organizing festivals, competitions, and exchange programs to foster learning and skill development among troupe members.

Over the past six decades, generations of Ulan Muqir performers have staged more than 400,000 shows across the region, sowing the seeds of art in the hearts of herdsmen and children.