CHINA / Railway in Tibetans Eyes
Songs about Tibet
(China Tibet Information Center)
Updated: 2006-08-15 15:09
Tibet is a symbol of mystery and untouched beauty in the eyes of the
public with a unique landscape and undiluted culture that's long
fascinated people all over the world.
A modern day event testifying to man's intelligence and diligence took
place on July 1st when the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was launched.
Now more and more outsiders will be able to see Tibet's beauty for
themselves, but Chinese musicians and poets were singing of the region
long before the railway age arrived.They praised the area with their
throats and pens, telling everyone of its sacred mountains, pure waters
and beautiful, ingenious people. Today, our reporter Xiaohua will take us
on a musical oddysey through Tibet.
There are almost too many songs about Tibet to gauge and they come in
just about every kind of musical favor, from folk to pop and rock.
Famous Cantonese pop stars have sung about the region, as well as Tibetan
locals.
And believe it or not, quite a few songs are famous throughout the
breadth and depth of China.
That was "Golden Hometown" by a native Tibet woman called Suolangwangmu.
She was just a shepherd girl who had never received any vocal training
when she sang this very song and won first prize at a national youth
singing competition four years ago. Suolangwangmu is now a professional
singer and included this track into her 2005 released called "Sounds From
Heaven".
Like so many songs from Tibetan musicians today, this track mixes folk
music with pop. Modern instruments are mixed with an unusual fast beat to
create music that's very different from the traditional tunes.
Suolangwangmu sings in her native tongue, so it's hard to understand
exactly what she's saying but her heavenly voice is enough to make your
heart fly with it.
Han Hong is one of the most popular female singers on the Chinese
mainland. Brought up in Tibet, she left the region to become a popular
solo artist but every now and then she releases a track to remind us how
much she loves her birthplace.
No song better expresses the joy and gratitude people feel for the new
Qinghai-Tibet railway. Although this song is not composed by Han Hong
herself, you hear the strength of her emotion when she sings, "I stand on
the high mountain at dusk, wishing the railway can reach my hometown."
Han Hong will always be connected to her birthplace but one of the most
famous classic tunes about Tibet comes from an artist with no ties to the
region.
Li Na is an accomplished singer who impressed the whole country with a
voice that matches any Tibetan. In particular, she released a single
called The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in 1997, which is an ode to a miraculous
and spiritual land. This song has gotten so popular that even to this
day, people still test their throats by challenging this song in Karaoke
bars.
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