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Performing troupe travels to Xinjiang
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IT was still early in the morning, but Purbu found it hard to get back to sleep in his yurt at the thought of Ulan Muqir鈥檚 arrival today.
The herdsman had invited the traveling troupe to perform at a celebration later that day.
The troupe used to arrive on horseback. Now they have vehicles. The troupe has toured the prairie to perform for the nomadic herdsmen in northwest China鈥檚 Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region for 50 years.
Ulan Muqir (Red Bud Troupe) is the Mongolian name for traveling troupes, who travel from one grazing site to another to perform for those who live in some of China鈥檚 most remote areas.
As a part of the government鈥檚 drive to boost folk art development, a Ulan Muqir was established in 1965 in the Wenquan County of Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, which borders Kazakhstan in the northwest.
鈥淥nce invited, Ulan Muqir will never let down their audience,鈥 says Bayinbat, 36, head of the troupe, who brought 20 performers to Purbu鈥檚 event that day.
The troupe has 27 members today, most from rural areas.
Horseback travel was once favored because it reduced the travel time between settlements on the prairies and mountains.
Siqin, 31, remembers what it was like when she joined the troupe 11 years ago. 鈥淪ometimes we had to walk for tens of kilometers carrying all our luggage 鈥 there was often no road surface at all,鈥 she recalls.
Thanks to transportation improvements, 鈥渢oday we can rent a bus or a truck. It鈥檚 much better,鈥 she says.
Hurdles and struggles
But things are not as easy as it seems. On the way to Purbu鈥檚 home, they were caught in a sudden downpour and had to travel by bus on the muddy track for two hours to finish the 50-kilometer-long trip.
鈥淎s is often the case, it might suddenly start to rain when we sing,鈥 Bayinbat says. 鈥淥ur hands get frozen in winter.鈥
Their perseverance moves the audience as much as they were moved by the hospitable herdsmen, who call Ulan Muqir artists 鈥渙ur children.鈥
When the troupe neared their destination, they were surprised to find a herdsman sent by Purbu waiting for them near a flooded road. The man had been waiting there since early in the morning.
Led by the guide, the troupe arrived at the party site at noon. They barely had any time to enjoy the delicious lamb, rice and milk tea the herdsmen had prepared for them. After bolting their lunch, the performers, surrounded by the audience, began to sing folk songs, dance and play instruments.
There are 92 villages and grazing sites in the county, according to Bayinbat. It takes the troupe about a year to tour all of them. The Ulan Muqir have composed over 1,000 songs and dances in the past five decades.
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