Mongolian Long Song revived through tradition and innovation

Editor's note:

The United Nations has officially designated 44 Chinese traditions as world cultural heritage. This series examines how each of them defines what it means to be Chinese.

On a remote Inner Mongolian prairie, a herder's voice rises, stretching across the grasslands. The free and unhurried melody carries stories of nomadic life, love and nature.

This is the Urtiin Duu, or "long song," a Mongolian vocal tradition recognized by UNESCO in 2005 as a shared intangible cultural heritage of China and Mongolia.

The long song emerged as Mongolian ancestors migrated from forests to vast grasslands, shifting from hunting to herding around 1,000 years ago.

It is one of Mongolia's two main vocal traditions, alongside the "short song," or Bogino Duu. A key part of nomadic culture, it is performed at weddings, childbirth, house-warming and foal-branding ceremonies. It can also be heard at Naadam, Mongolia's festival of wrestling, archery and horse racing.

Its lyrics celebrate rivers, mountains and the bond between humans and nature. Singers use techniques like Nogala – vocal tremolos mimicking wind or horse gallops – to create haunting, undulating melodies.

Unlike structured Western music, the Urtiin Duu has no fixed rhythm. It follows the natural cadence of breathing and horseback riding. A single syllable might stretch across 20 seconds, punctuated by Nogala.

"True 'long song' requires life experience," said Bo Narisu, a singer and the leader of the folk-rock band Anda Union, which blends the tradition with modern genres.

"When I sing of a horse, I'm not just describing it – I become its spirit," he explained.

Each long song is unique, as singers improvise, adding spontaneous variations that reflect the freedom of nomadic life.

Scholars call it the "perfect unity of heaven's voice and the human soul," while estheticians see it as a deep harmony between people and the natural world.

The Urtiin Duu becomes even more powerful when performed in a group. A lead singer, backed by three to five vocalists providing a deep, continuous drone, creates a grand, solemn atmosphere.

A defining example of the long song is "Vast Grassland," a simple yet powerful piece composed of just two melodic phrases. Its minimalist structure conveys the vast, unrestrained beauty of the Mongolian steppe.

The ancient feast song "Sixty Beauties" celebrates Mongolian life, listing 60 cherished elements, from rolling grasslands and galloping horses to flowing rivers and the bonds of family and kinship.

For decades, urbanization and fading interest among youth threatened the tradition's survival. By the early 2000s, few young Mongolians could perform the Urtiin Duu.

In 2005, China and Mongolia launched a joint decade-long preservation effort, establishing training programs and archiving recordings.

Zha Gedasurong, a herder-turned singer, learned long song while tending sheep on the Xilingol grasslands. His adoptive mother, bedridden but gifted in folk music, taught him to channel joy and sorrow into song.

Now a nationally recognized inheritor, he trains students at Inner Mongolia Arts University's "ethnic music heritage class," reviving about 30 nearly lost melodies.

Sa Yinbilige, a 70-year-old national inheritor from Tongliao, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has spent a decade traveling to remote villages to teach more than 200 students free of charge. He has revived around 100 nearly lost melodies from the Horqin region, ensuring their place on professional stage.

Innovation has fueled its revival. Anda Union's adaptation of "Lonely Warrior," a viral Chinese pop hit, has drawn millions of views on the Internet.

Even space echoes with tradition. China's 2007 Chang'e-1 lunar probe carried a Mongolian long song recording into orbit, a symbolic gesture bridging ancient earthbound art with cosmic exploration.

Today schools in Inner Mongolia teach long song, and some global music festivals feature its ethereal tones.

Alatanqiqige, another national inheritor, has established eight training centers across Inner Mongolia and in Beijing, mentoring more than 1,100 students since 2008.

Her efforts include free summer camps for nomadic children and collaborations with institutions like Ulanqab Art School to integrate long song into formal curricula.

Her students have performed at venues including the Paris World Music Festival, where songs such as "The Vast Grassland" moved audiences to tears.

For singers like Zha Gedasurong, the long song is more than heritage.

"Every note is a thread connecting us to our ancestors," he said. "Cut it, and we lose our soul."