Musical members of the Miao ethnic group have gathered in Danzhai county, southwest China’s Guizhou Province for a festival based around the mangtong, an unusual wind instrument formed of a bamboo pipe up to two meters in length. /Chinanews Photo
Playing the mangtong is a tradition of several ethnicities concentrated in China. A reed-pipe wind instrument, it only produces a single pitch so is generally used as a bass element in musical ensembles. /Chinanews Photo
The musicians wore traditional Miao dress for the festival on Saturday. /Chinanews Photo
Miao girls also displayed Jinji dance, another Miao cultural treasure often paired with mangtong music. /Chinanews Photo
Translating into “golden pheasant dance,” Jinji highlights costumes blazing with colors and cheerful dance steps mimicking those of agile birds. Traditionally, Miao people danced and played music for worship or other celebrations. /Chinanews Photo
