【正文】 t y d u r i n g t h ei r j ou r n e y t o K az ak hs t an , M ay 5 , 2021. The caravan , cons is ti n g of more than 100 camels , three hors e d r a wn carri ag es and four s uppor t vehi cl es , s tart e d the trip from Jingyan g coun t y in S haan xi on S ept 19, 2021. It will pas s throug h Gans u provi n c e and Xinji an g Uyg ur aut on om o us region , and fi nal l y arri ve in Almat y, forme rl y k nown as Alma A t a, the larges t city in Kaz ak hs t an , and Dung an in Zhamb yl provi n ce . Th e t r i p wi ll c o ve r a b ou t 1 5 ,0 00 k il ome t e r s an d t ak e t h e c ar a va n m or e t h an on e ye ar t o c o m pl e t e . Th e c ar a van i s e x pe c t e d t o r e t u r n t o J i n g ya n g i n Mar c h 20 16 . Th e n t h e y wi l l c o me b ac k , c ar r yi n g s pe ci al t y pr o d u c t s f r om K az ak hs t an A s mal l ar t t r ou pe f ou n de d s i x de c a des ag o h as g r o wn i n t o a h ou s e h ol d n a me i n t h e In n e r Mon g ol i a au t on o m ou s r eg i on . In t h e 1 9 50s , Ul an Mu qi r Ar t Tr ou pe was create d by nine you ng mus ici a ns , who toure d remot e villages on hors es and perf or m e d tradi t i on al Mong ol i an mus ic and dan c es for nomad i c famil i es . The 54 ye ar ol d was bor n in Tongl i ao , in eas ter n Inne r Mong ol i a and joine d the trou pe in s ays there are 74 branc h trou pes acros s Inne r Mong ol i a and actors give arou n d 100 s hows ever y year to local nomad i c peopl e . I can s till recall the days whe n I toure d with the trou pe in the early 39。80s . We s at on the back of pick u p truck s for hours . The s k y was bl u e , an d we c ou l dn 39。 t help but s ing the folk s ongs , Nas un s ays . The vas t n es s of Inne r Mon g oli a and the lack of e n t e r t ai n me n t o p t i on s f or peopl e livin g there, made their lives lonel y. The n o ma di c pe o pl e we r e ve r y excite d abou t our vis its , Nas u n r e c alls . We di dn 39。 t have a formal s tage. The audi e n c e jus t s at on the gras s . Us uall y, the perf or m a nc es becam e a big par t y with local peopl e joini n g in. For him, the rewar d i n g part abou t touri n g is n39。t jus t abou t s haring art wit h nomad i c famil i es but als o abou t gainin g ins pir a ti o n for the mus ic and dan ce . Ulan Mu qir literall y trans l a t es as red burg e on , and today39。s perf or m e rs of the trou pe s till tour the re gi on 39。s vi ll ag es an d e n t e r t ai n n o m a di c f a mi li es , bu t t h e i r f a me h as s pr e a d ar ou n d the worl d . On May 16 and 17, nearl y 100 s ingers a nd dan ce rs from the trou pe perf or m e d at Beijing 39。s Poly Theat e r. Their s how, title d Ulan Mu qi r on the Gr as s l an d, de pi c t e d t h e h is t or y an d de ve l o p me n t of t h e ar t t r ou pe . B e i ng f r o m t h e re gi on al l o we d me t o e m br ac e t h e c u l t u r e of In n e r M on g ol i a a n d be i n g a m e m be r o f t h e t r ou pe s h o we d me wh e r e I be l on g e d, N as u n , t h e ar t t r ou pe 39。 s pr es i de n t , wh o is als o a renowne d tenor, tells Chin a Dail y. Durin g a tour in 1985, he wen t to a villag e and met an elderl y local man, who told him a s tory abou t his frien ds h i p with a s olider from S henya n g , capi t al of Nort h e as t Chin a39。s Liaon i n g provi n c e , decad es ago. The s olider gave the old man a han dm a de s addl e whe n they bid fare we ll . The s tory ins pir e d Nas un to writ e Car ve d S addle , a s ong that later bec ame one of his mos t popul ar numbe rs . Now, ever y year, Nas u n recrui ts youn g s ingers and danc e rs for the trou pe . The trou pe has als o des igne d a new reper t oi re , whic h is mos t l y bas e d on the dail y lives of Mong ol i an peopl e , es peci all y the lives of nomad i c famil i es , and has bi n e d conte m p or ar y mus ical eleme n ts wit h folk s ongs of the region . Hai mu , a 25 ye ar ol d k hoome i (a local vari a n t of o ve r t on e s i n g i ng ) s i n ge r, j oi n e d t h e t r ou pe t h r e e years ago. Along wit h a s ix me m b e r ban d , he perf or ms fas t s ongs and s oft ones that he writ es － all whil e playi n g the hors e h e a d fiddle . Al t h o ug h I learne d the pian o s ince childh o od and grew up lis teni ng to vari o us k inds of mus ic , to me, the folk mus ic of Inne r Mon g oli a is the root, he s ays . Perf or m i ng in remot e vill ag es is pleas a n t . I feel at home on the bou n d l es s gras s lan ds , and the war m peopl e there mak e me feel fulfi ll e d . The firs t roun d of s pring aucti o n s eas on in Beijin g ende d las t week , but it faile d to creat e much s pring in the art mar k e t . Al t h ou g h t wo pi e c es of Ch i n es e p ai n t i n g f e t c h e d mor e t h an 1 0 0 mil l i on yu a n , t h e de c li n e i n t r adi n g vol u me an d s a le r at e s h o we d a do wn t u r n t h is ye ar. In t h e ―Grand View: Chines e Painting Highlight‖ session at China Guardian 2021 spring auctions , Pan Tians hou’s repres entative work Eagle, Rock and Flora hit a record aucti on price of 279 milli on yuan, while Li Ker an’s mas terwork Jinggang Mountain fetche d million yuan, an unexpecte d h ig h i n r e c e n t ye ar s . Ho we ve r, t h e t r a di n g vol u me f e l ls t o 1 . 8 7 bi ll i on y u an f r o m 2 . 2 2 bi l li on yu an in the s ame peri od the year bef or e . The Huang c h e n 2021 S prin g Aucti o ns , whic h recor de d million yuan in tot al s ales , expe r ie n c e d the s ame. The s ection numbe r went down to 5 from 12 par e d to las t year. Accor d i n g to expe r