Located in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Hulun Buir Grassland is one of the four largest grasslands in the world and regarded as the best grassland on the planet. On this best grassland, the art of talking and singing with rich ethnic features is thriving. When you ride a horse on the vast grassland, you'll be accompanied by the unique art.
"Haolibao" is a subgenre of the talking and singing art widely popular among the Mongolian people. It is sung to fixed tunes, but the lyrics are improvised by the performer according to the situation. It is often in the form of a duet or a self-questioning-and-answering solo show to the accompaniment of the sihu (a Mongolian bowed string instrument) played by the performer himself/herself. This type of story-singing is often performed in a Mongolian yurt or in a herdsman's home in the village or town of a pastoral area. Some performers make a living by singing "haolibao" door to door. Sometimes families and friends also sing it when get together.
The Daur minority has their own style of talking and singing art, which is called "wuchun" or "wuqin". It is usually performed by one person. A complete "wuchun" is made up of three parts - the prelude, the story and the end, with a tune especially composed for the performance. Long folktales in the Daur culture are often featured in the talking and singing shows. These stories include the Death of the Red-Crowned Crane, the Musical Dialogue between a Doe and a Fawn etc. In some cases, adaptations of Han Chinese classics like Romance of the Western Chamber, Romance of the Three Kingdoms etc are also featured.
The talking and singing art on the grassland with its natural artistic style has long been widely spread in the boundless area.
