-- On the evening of September 24, the headline concert of the 2026 "Xiaohe Tangshui" (Little River Flows)·Dali Midu Folk Song Festival — "Singing ‘Xiaohe Tangshui’ Again: Global Echoes of the City of Folk Songs" — premiered at Huadeng Square in Midu County, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, officially kicking off this year’s festival.
The nearly two-hour performance combined live staging, nationwide live streaming, and a short-video matrix to present audiences across China with a grand folk-song gala distinguished by its regional identity, ethnic cultural depth, and stage artistry. Through folk melodies refined over a century, the event once again burnished Midu’s cultural calling card as the "City of Folk Songs."
First launched in 2023, the "Xiaohe Tangshui"·Dali Midu Folk Song Festival centers this year’s concert on the theme of "again." Four chapters — "Singing ‘Midu Mountain Song’ Again," "Meeting ‘The Ten Sisters’ Again," "Watching ‘Embroidering the Purse’ Again," and "Listening to ‘Xiaohe Tangshui’ Again" — form the narrative spine. Nineteen acts deconstruct and artistically reimagine four classic Midu folk songs, preserving their core cultural memory while delivering a fresh stage experience.
The four chapters unfold in sequence — from mountain roots and everyday life to the aesthetics of intangible cultural heritage and global resonance — gradually building the performance to a climax. They carry century-old Midu folk songs out of old records and faded memories, onto contemporary stages, city squares, online spaces, and the daily lives of households, making them an emotional vessel through which the people of Midu and the broader province share the sounds of home, and a key window for Yunnan folk-song culture to reach wider audiences.
In the grand finale, the audience joined a drone light show in a ten-thousand-voice chorus of "Xiaohe Tangshui," followed by a collective rendition of "My Motherland and Me." Amid the festive atmosphere ahead of National Day (October 1), the people of this hometown of folk songs offered their most heartfelt tribute to the motherland in a uniquely romantic way. The performance expanded from "a single song of Midu" to "a sea of song across Yunnan," linking with musical cultural exchanges in neighboring countries to achieve a broadcast effect of "the world sharing one voice." It ensures that the people share in the fruits of cultural development and that traditional folk songs truly "resonate in people’s hearts" in the contemporary era.
Midu is the birthplace of "Xiaohe Tangshui," widely known as the "Oriental Serenade." It is home to two items of national intangible cultural heritage: Midu folk songs and Huadeng (Festive Lantern) Opera. More than 400 Midu folk songs are on record, with classics including "Xiaohe Tangshui," "Midu Mountain Song," "The Ten Sisters," and "Embroidering the Purse" renowned at home and abroad. Passed down through generations, these mountain tunes started in the fields and villages, traveled along the Tea-Horse Ancient Road to reach the rest of China, and now, empowered by the internet, are reaching the world. They vividly demonstrate that traditional folk songs are never static specimens sealed in display cases, but living culture rooted in life and growing with the pulse of the times.
This folk-song gala rooted in the Southwest is a vivid microcosm of the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture. When the songs of people of different ethnic groups, ages, and regions meet and resonate under the Midu moonlight, the cultural confidence flowing through the nation’s veins finds its most vivid collective expression. It confirms that ethnic art rooted in the people always possesses a vitality that transcends time and space, and remains the deepest and most moving spiritual force as China builds a culturally strong country and advances the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
The 2026 "Xiaohe Tangshui"·Dali Midu Folk Song Festival runs for four days. In addition to the headline folk-song concert, programs from September 25 to 27 will include a theatrical showcase and Mid-Autumn Festival gala marking the 70th anniversary of the Midu County Huadeng Troupe, a Marathon Night DJ Concert, and intangible cultural heritage performances. During the festival, parallel activities will include intangible cultural heritage product exhibitions, mass cultural events at scenic spots, and a Douyin short-video challenge set to "Midu Mountain Song."
Contact Info:
Name: Mr. Xiang
Email: Send Email
Organization: Midu County People's Government
Website: https://www.midu.gov.cn/
Release ID: 89204524
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