The ancient cultural traditions of the Jino ethnic group that settled in China's Yunnan Province have come into the public spotlight following the premiere of a groundbreaking musical theater piece by Pulitzer Prize winner Du Yun in Beijing on Sunday.

Du created the work titled "The Ocean Etched in the Forest" amid a period of modernization when many minority cultures were confronted with the daunting challenges of inheritance and development.

The work explores the rich cultural heritage of the Jino people, one of China's last officially recognized ethnic groups, and integrates traditional music and rituals with modern artistic forms.

The Shanghai-born composer revealed that she immersed herself in the culture of the Jino ethnic group in Yunnan during the creative process, engaging in months-long exchanges and research with local cultural inheritors. She ultimately chose the Jino people's iconic "big drum dance" and their traditional music as the soul and rhythmic cornerstone of the work.

Jointly commissioned by the Beijing Music Festival and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the production is set to be staged at the center's New York venue on November 7.

Du Yun won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her opera Angel's Bone. In 2019, the Beijing Music Festival honored her with the title of Artist of the Year, highlighting the close connection between her artistic achievements and the Chinese art scene.