Oyunjargal (R) demonstrates playing skill on a bus heading for a performance in the countryside in Sonid Right Banner of Xilingol League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 12, 2025.

On the grasslands of Sonid Right Banner in Xilingol League, the sound of the morin khuur (a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument also known as the horse-headed-fiddle) echoed through the morning mist. Oyunjargal, a morin khuur player and a Khoomei (a traditional Mongolian singing art) performer with the Ulan Muqir art troupe of Sonid Right Banner, has made full preparations for a day's performance. He has worked with the troupe for thirteen years and traveled across the banner's seven Sumu (town) and fifty-eight Gacha (village).

"Our performance goes to every place where herders live," Oyunjargal said. He and troupe members loaded their instruments and sound equipment onto a flow stage bus and drove to a border guard station in Jihuulengt Gacha of Erenuur Sumu, bringing a cultural performance to border patrolmen and herders there.

Ulan Muqir (Red Bud Troupe) is the Mongolian name for a traveling troupe that goes from one grazing site to another, performing for the herdsmen in some of China's most remote areas. The first Ulan Muqir art troupe was formed in Sonid Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, in 1957. Since then, generations of artists have performed for the herdsmen and taken root in the prairie.

Among the dancers of the troupe, Esnil is the youngest. After graduation from college, she chose to return to the grasslands instead of settling down in a big city. "I was born in a herdsman family, and that is why I wished to dance for the herdsman," said Esnil. 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 Ulan Muqir.

From generation to generation, the members of the Ulan Muqir art troupe have taken roots in the grassland, sowing the seeds of art in the hearts of herdsmen and children. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)

Border patrolmen and audience watch a performance given by the Ulan Muqir art troupe at a border guard station in Jihuulengt Gacha of Erenuur Sumu, Sonid Right Banner, Xilingol League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 12, 2025.

On the grasslands of Sonid Right Banner in Xilingol League, the sound of the morin khuur (a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument also known as the horse-headed-fiddle) echoed through the morning mist. Oyunjargal, a morin khuur player and a Khoomei (a traditional Mongolian singing art) performer with the Ulan Muqir art troupe of Sonid Right Banner, has made full preparations for a day's performance. He has worked with the troupe for thirteen years and traveled across the banner's seven Sumu (town) and fifty-eight Gacha (village).

"Our performance goes to every place where herders live," Oyunjargal said. He and troupe members loaded their instruments and sound equipment onto a flow stage bus and drove to a border guard station in Jihuulengt Gacha of Erenuur Sumu, bringing a cultural performance to border patrolmen and herders there.

Ulan Muqir (Red Bud Troupe) is the Mongolian name for a traveling troupe that goes from one grazing site to another, performing for the herdsmen in some of China's most remote areas. The first Ulan Muqir art troupe was formed in Sonid Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, in 1957. Since then, generations of artists have performed for the herdsmen and taken root in the prairie.

Among the dancers of the troupe, Esnil is the youngest. After graduation from college, she chose to return to the grasslands instead of settling down in a big city. "I was born in a herdsman family, and that is why I wished to dance for the herdsman," said Esnil. 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 Ulan Muqir.

From generation to generation, the members of the Ulan Muqir art troupe have taken roots in the grassland, sowing the seeds of art in the hearts of herdsmen and children. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)

Oyunjargal (C) instructs students in playing the morin khuur at a primary school in Sonid Right Banner of Xilingol League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 13, 2025.

On the grasslands of Sonid Right Banner in Xilingol League, the sound of the morin khuur (a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument also known as the horse-headed-fiddle) echoed through the morning mist. Oyunjargal, a morin khuur player and a Khoomei (a traditional Mongolian singing art) performer with the Ulan Muqir art troupe of Sonid Right Banner, has made full preparations for a day's performance. He has worked with the troupe for thirteen years and traveled across the banner's seven Sumu (town) and fifty-eight Gacha (village).

"Our performance goes to every place where herders live," Oyunjargal said. He and troupe members loaded their instruments and sound equipment onto a flow stage bus and drove to a border guard station in Jihuulengt Gacha of Erenuur Sumu, bringing a cultural performance to border patrolmen and herders there.

Ulan Muqir (Red Bud Troupe) is the Mongolian name for a traveling troupe that goes from one grazing site to another, performing for the herdsmen in some of China's most remote areas. The first Ulan Muqir art troupe was formed in Sonid Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, in 1957. Since then, generations of artists have performed for the herdsmen and taken root in the prairie.

Among the dancers of the troupe, Esnil is the youngest. After graduation from college, she chose to return to the grasslands instead of settling down in a big city. "I was born in a herdsman family, and that is why I wished to dance for the herdsman," said Esnil. 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 Ulan Muqir.

From generation to generation, the members of the Ulan Muqir art troupe have taken roots in the grassland, sowing the seeds of art in the hearts of herdsmen and children. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)

Esnil practices at a training room in Sonid Right Banner of Xilingol League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 11, 2025.

On the grasslands of Sonid Right Banner in Xilingol League, the sound of the morin khuur (a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument also known as the horse-headed-fiddle) echoed through the morning mist. Oyunjargal, a morin khuur player and a Khoomei (a traditional Mongolian singing art) performer with the Ulan Muqir art troupe of Sonid Right Banner, has made full preparations for a day's performance. He has worked with the troupe for thirteen years and traveled across the banner's seven Sumu (town) and fifty-eight Gacha (village).

"Our performance goes to every place where herders live," Oyunjargal said. He and troupe members loaded their instruments and sound equipment onto a flow stage bus and drove to a border guard station in Jihuulengt Gacha of Erenuur Sumu, bringing a cultural performance to border patrolmen and herders there.

Ulan Muqir (Red Bud Troupe) is the Mongolian name for a traveling troupe that goes from one grazing site to another, performing for the herdsmen in some of China's most remote areas. The first Ulan Muqir art troupe was formed in Sonid Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, in 1957. Since then, generations of artists have performed for the herdsmen and taken root in the prairie.

Among the dancers of the troupe, Esnil is the youngest. After graduation from college, she chose to return to the grasslands instead of settling down in a big city. "I was born in a herdsman family, and that is why I wished to dance for the herdsman," said Esnil. 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 Ulan Muqir.

From generation to generation, the members of the Ulan Muqir art troupe have taken roots in the grassland, sowing the seeds of art in the hearts of herdsmen and children. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)

Oyunjargal plays the morin khuur at a border guard station in Jihuulengt Gacha of Erenuur Sumu, Sonid Right Banner, Xilingol League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 12, 2025.

On the grasslands of Sonid Right Banner in Xilingol League, the sound of the morin khuur (a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument also known as the horse-headed-fiddle) echoed through the morning mist. Oyunjargal, a morin khuur player and a Khoomei (a traditional Mongolian singing art) performer with the Ulan Muqir art troupe of Sonid Right Banner, has made full preparations for a day's performance. He has worked with the troupe for thirteen years and traveled across the banner's seven Sumu (town) and fifty-eight Gacha (village).

"Our performance goes to every place where herders live," Oyunjargal said. He and troupe members loaded their instruments and sound equipment onto a flow stage bus and drove to a border guard station in Jihuulengt Gacha of Erenuur Sumu, bringing a cultural performance to border patrolmen and herders there.

Ulan Muqir (Red Bud Troupe) is the Mongolian name for a traveling troupe that goes from one grazing site to another, performing for the herdsmen in some of China's most remote areas. The first Ulan Muqir art troupe was formed in Sonid Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, in 1957. Since then, generations of artists have performed for the herdsmen and taken root in the prairie.

Among the dancers of the troupe, Esnil is the youngest. After graduation from college, she chose to return to the grasslands instead of settling down in a big city. "I was born in a herdsman family, and that is why I wished to dance for the herdsman," said Esnil. 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 Ulan Muqir.

From generation to generation, the members of the Ulan Muqir art troupe have taken roots in the grassland, sowing the seeds of art in the hearts of herdsmen and children. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)

An actress with the Ulan Muqir art troupe changes her clothes on a bus heading for a performance in the countryside in Sonid Right Banner of Xilingol League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 12, 2025.

On the grasslands of Sonid Right Banner in Xilingol League, the sound of the morin khuur (a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument also known as the horse-headed-fiddle) echoed through the morning mist. Oyunjargal, a morin khuur player and a Khoomei (a traditional Mongolian singing art) performer with the Ulan Muqir art troupe of Sonid Right Banner, has made full preparations for a day's performance. He has worked with the troupe for thirteen years and traveled across the banner's seven Sumu (town) and fifty-eight Gacha (village).

"Our performance goes to every place where herders live," Oyunjargal said. He and troupe members loaded their instruments and sound equipment onto a flow stage bus and drove to a border guard station in Jihuulengt Gacha of Erenuur Sumu, bringing a cultural performance to border patrolmen and herders there.

Ulan Muqir (Red Bud Troupe) is the Mongolian name for a traveling troupe that goes from one grazing site to another, performing for the herdsmen in some of China's most remote areas. The first Ulan Muqir art troupe was formed in Sonid Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, in 1957. Since then, generations of artists have performed for the herdsmen and taken root in the prairie.

Among the dancers of the troupe, Esnil is the youngest. After graduation from college, she chose to return to the grasslands instead of settling down in a big city. "I was born in a herdsman family, and that is why I wished to dance for the herdsman," said Esnil. 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 Ulan Muqir.

From generation to generation, the members of the Ulan Muqir art troupe have taken roots in the grassland, sowing the seeds of art in the hearts of herdsmen and children. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)

Esnil instructs students in dancing at a primary school in Sonid Right Banner of Xilingol League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 13, 2025.

On the grasslands of Sonid Right Banner in Xilingol League, the sound of the morin khuur (a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument also known as the horse-headed-fiddle) echoed through the morning mist. Oyunjargal, a morin khuur player and a Khoomei (a traditional Mongolian singing art) performer with the Ulan Muqir art troupe of Sonid Right Banner, has made full preparations for a day's performance. He has worked with the troupe for thirteen years and traveled across the banner's seven Sumu (town) and fifty-eight Gacha (village).

"Our performance goes to every place where herders live," Oyunjargal said. He and troupe members loaded their instruments and sound equipment onto a flow stage bus and drove to a border guard station in Jihuulengt Gacha of Erenuur Sumu, bringing a cultural performance to border patrolmen and herders there.

Ulan Muqir (Red Bud Troupe) is the Mongolian name for a traveling troupe that goes from one grazing site to another, performing for the herdsmen in some of China's most remote areas. The first Ulan Muqir art troupe was formed in Sonid Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, in 1957. Since then, generations of artists have performed for the herdsmen and taken root in the prairie.

Among the dancers of the troupe, Esnil is the youngest. After graduation from college, she chose to return to the grasslands instead of settling down in a big city. "I was born in a herdsman family, and that is why I wished to dance for the herdsman," said Esnil. 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 Ulan Muqir.

From generation to generation, the members of the Ulan Muqir art troupe have taken roots in the grassland, sowing the seeds of art in the hearts of herdsmen and children. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)

Esnil instructs students in dancing at a primary school in Sonid Right Banner of Xilingol League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 13, 2025.

On the grasslands of Sonid Right Banner in Xilingol League, the sound of the morin khuur (a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument also known as the horse-headed-fiddle) echoed through the morning mist. Oyunjargal, a morin khuur player and a Khoomei (a traditional Mongolian singing art) performer with the Ulan Muqir art troupe of Sonid Right Banner, has made full preparations for a day's performance. He has worked with the troupe for thirteen years and traveled across the banner's seven Sumu (town) and fifty-eight Gacha (village).

"Our performance goes to every place where herders live," Oyunjargal said. He and troupe members loaded their instruments and sound equipment onto a flow stage bus and drove to a border guard station in Jihuulengt Gacha of Erenuur Sumu, bringing a cultural performance to border patrolmen and herders there.

Ulan Muqir (Red Bud Troupe) is the Mongolian name for a traveling troupe that goes from one grazing site to another, performing for the herdsmen in some of China's most remote areas. The first Ulan Muqir art troupe was formed in Sonid Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, in 1957. Since then, generations of artists have performed for the herdsmen and taken root in the prairie.

Among the dancers of the troupe, Esnil is the youngest. After graduation from college, she chose to return to the grasslands instead of settling down in a big city. "I was born in a herdsman family, and that is why I wished to dance for the herdsman," said Esnil. 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 Ulan Muqir.

From generation to generation, the members of the Ulan Muqir art troupe have taken roots in the grassland, sowing the seeds of art in the hearts of herdsmen and children. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)

Actors with the Ulan Muqir art troupe perform during a rehearsal in Sonid Right Banner of Xilingol League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 13, 2025.

On the grasslands of Sonid Right Banner in Xilingol League, the sound of the morin khuur (a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument also known as the horse-headed-fiddle) echoed through the morning mist. Oyunjargal, a morin khuur player and a Khoomei (a traditional Mongolian singing art) performer with the Ulan Muqir art troupe of Sonid Right Banner, has made full preparations for a day's performance. He has worked with the troupe for thirteen years and traveled across the banner's seven Sumu (town) and fifty-eight Gacha (village).

"Our performance goes to every place where herders live," Oyunjargal said. He and troupe members loaded their instruments and sound equipment onto a flow stage bus and drove to a border guard station in Jihuulengt Gacha of Erenuur Sumu, bringing a cultural performance to border patrolmen and herders there.

Ulan Muqir (Red Bud Troupe) is the Mongolian name for a traveling troupe that goes from one grazing site to another, performing for the herdsmen in some of China's most remote areas. The first Ulan Muqir art troupe was formed in Sonid Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, in 1957. Since then, generations of artists have performed for the herdsmen and taken root in the prairie.

Among the dancers of the troupe, Esnil is the youngest. After graduation from college, she chose to return to the grasslands instead of settling down in a big city. "I was born in a herdsman family, and that is why I wished to dance for the herdsman," said Esnil. 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 Ulan Muqir.

From generation to generation, the members of the Ulan Muqir art troupe have taken roots in the grassland, sowing the seeds of art in the hearts of herdsmen and children. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)

An actress with the Ulan Muqir art troupe gets off a bus in Jihuulengt Gacha of Erenuur Sumu, Sonid Right Banner, Xilingol League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 12, 2025.

On the grasslands of Sonid Right Banner in Xilingol League, the sound of the morin khuur (a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument also known as the horse-headed-fiddle) echoed through the morning mist. Oyunjargal, a morin khuur player and a Khoomei (a traditional Mongolian singing art) performer with the Ulan Muqir art troupe of Sonid Right Banner, has made full preparations for a day's performance. He has worked with the troupe for thirteen years and traveled across the banner's seven Sumu (town) and fifty-eight Gacha (village).

"Our performance goes to every place where herders live," Oyunjargal said. He and troupe members loaded their instruments and sound equipment onto a flow stage bus and drove to a border guard station in Jihuulengt Gacha of Erenuur Sumu, bringing a cultural performance to border patrolmen and herders there.

Ulan Muqir (Red Bud Troupe) is the Mongolian name for a traveling troupe that goes from one grazing site to another, performing for the herdsmen in some of China's most remote areas. The first Ulan Muqir art troupe was formed in Sonid Right Banner, Inner Mongolia, in 1957. Since then, generations of artists have performed for the herdsmen and taken root in the prairie.

Among the dancers of the troupe, Esnil is the youngest. After graduation from college, she chose to return to the grasslands instead of settling down in a big city. "I was born in a herdsman family, and that is why I wished to dance for the herdsman," said Esnil. 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 Ulan Muqir.

From generation to generation, the members of the Ulan Muqir art troupe have taken roots in the grassland, sowing the seeds of art in the hearts of herdsmen and children. (Xinhua/Ma Jinrui)