On June 25, 2023, an intangible cultural heritage event with the theme “Stand on Mount Everest and Enjoy Thousands of Heavenly Chords” was held during the World Record Challenge in Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. A total of 1,000 participants took part in the Shigatse folk dance performance. According to WRCA, the event set the world record for the “largest intangible cultural heritage performance of Shigatse folk dance.”
The event officially began around 11 a.m. Accompanied by powerful drum beats, artists from different districts appear in festive clothing. Their unique folk dance styles such as “Dui Xie”, “Luo Xie” and “Sima Zhuo” showed the enduring charm of Everest culture. In a multi-layered semicircular formation, they transformed into shapes such as the sun, moon and stars. A thousand dancers from Shigatse, also decked up in festive costumes, danced to changing tunes, expressing their love and admiration for the happy life of today and their longing for a better tomorrow. The beauty of the intangible cultural heritage was on full display.
The large-scale intangible cultural heritage dance performance “Stand on Mount Everest, Enjoy Thousands of Heavenly Chords” in Shigatse, Tibet, featured three traditional folk dances: “Dui Xie,” “Sima Zhuo,” and “Lazi Dui Xie.” ” The first part showcased the transformative changes in the lives of farmers and shepherds, while the second part highlighted the authentic traditional dances from different counties. The third part wonderfully described the new face of people's happy lives. The aim of this unique performance was to bring the dance form and presentation of “Thousands of Heavenly Chords” to the global stage for the first time.
Shigatse has a rich, deep and colorful intangible cultural heritage, with 238 intangible cultural heritage projects at various levels and 389 legal heirs. In recent years, thanks to scientific protection, orderly inheritance and reasonable development and use, these ancient traditional cultures have emerged with new vitality through creative transformation and innovative development in Shigatse City.
