Layi is a love-focused folksong form popular in Amdo Tibetan areas like Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan. It is distributed around areas surrounding the Qinghai Lake and the Yellow River Valley (Hainan and Huangnan Prefectures). Layi is born out of Tibetan folksongs. The division of three major Tibetan areas in the 7th century contributed to the wide popularity of layi in Amdo Tibetan area.
There are a great variety of and a large number of layi songs which touch upon every aspect of a love relationship. A complete antiphonal song follows set procedures, such as prelude song, greeting song, fall-in-love song, longing song, parting song, epilogue song, etc. There are also various styles of layi tunes in different areas.
Layi is the wonder among Tibetan folksongs. As layi is used to express affections between young men and women, people do not sing it at home or in the village, but can sing heartily in the hills. Layi is agreeable and poetic in tune, and slow and free in rhythm. Although the melody does not change much, it is still touching with the singer's emotions in it. Layi has no fixed lyrics. Inspired by the scenes, the singers improvise the lyrics, and ingeniously employ metaphors and other means to vividly convey their feelings. A lot of lyrics are borrowed from love poems of Tshangs-dbyangs-rgya-mtsho, the 6th Dalai Lama.