An idyllic stage

Guo was so captivated by her mother's stories that the idea of becoming a dancer herself took root in her heart.

In 2010, as a dancer, Guo joined the same troupe as her mother, the Ulan Muqir of Horqin Right Wing Middle Banner. Besides performing as a dancer, Guo also plays khuvis (Mongolian plucked stringed instrument), works as the shows' host, writes scripts and acts. In early May, she was awarded the Hinggan League Youth May Fourth Medal for her promotion of the art troupe.

"My mother trained me to become a dancer and she was very proud and excited about me joining the Ulan Muqir of Horqin Right Wing Middle Banner," says Guo. "Some of the dance pieces that I perform nowadays were also danced by my mother decades ago. It is like a family legacy that I am keeping on."

The Ulan Muqir of Horqin Right Wing Middle Banner, founded in 1965, gives about 100 shows a year, touring villages. The troupe also performs at schools and nursing homes for elderly people.

Guo says when she toured with the troupe, she experienced similar situations like what her mother told in her stories.

"Now, the condition of the art troupe is much better compared to decades ago. Back then, my mother toured by riding horses and now we tour by bus. During power cuts, the villagers would turn up their car lights to shed light on the stage for us," says Guo.

"We've made lots of friends with the local people. They treated us like guests with hospitality and delicious food.

"Some of our shows are staged at indoor venues, like theaters, but most of the time we tour and perform outdoors, with the blue sky as our curtain and the grassland as our stage. The audiences sit casually on grass. We are sometimes so close that my dress touches them when I spin."

According to Zhang Xueke, director of the Ulan Muqir of Horqin Right Wing Middle Banner, there are about 70 members in the troupe, with 45 percent being people born after 1990, like Guo.

"These young people have brought their fresh ideas and creativity to the development of the art troupe. They have created many new performances, based on the daily lives of Mongolian people, as well as composed new songs combining Mongolian folk songs and contemporary music elements," says Zhang, adding that the young performers have been promoting the history and culture of Ulan Muqir on social media, which had led to the art troupe gaining more than 1 million followers online.