Turning burnout to glory

"The world needs to see Chinese stage productions like this — stylish and contemporary, yet deeply rooted in tradition and ethnic mystique," she says.

Halamuji, a 26-year-old musician from Bayannur in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, performed khoomei, an ancient art of throat singing, at the gala.

He has been practicing the throat-singing skill for more than a decade and participated in the soundtrack production of the sensational animated film Ne Zha 2.

The khoomei tradition is found in China, Mongolia and Russia. In China, it is practiced mostly by ethnic Mongolians in Inner Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. In Halamuji's view, khoomei is not just an art form but also a treasure of ethnic culture, carrying the wisdom and emotions of his ancestors.

"I no longer live in my hometown, but no matter where I am, I have a duty to promote and pass it on — this is what I've always wanted to do," he says.

Last month, Douyin released its 2025 Intangible Cultural Heritage Data Report, revealing that the platform had generated more than 200 million new videos featuring national-level intangible cultural heritage items in the past year — a 31 percent year-on-year increase.

During the same period, 14 million users shared their intangible cultural heritage experiences on the platform, with related short videos amassing 749 billion cumulative views. The report also noted an average of 65,000 daily livestreams dedicated to intangible cultural heritage content.

Additionally, the data shows a rise in young creators producing intangible cultural heritage content, with the number of national-level intangible cultural heritage inheritors under 30 on Douyin increasing by 24 percent year-on-year.

Halamuji is also an active content creator on Douyin, where he regularly posts clips of himself playing the matouqin, or the horse-headed fiddle, and performing khoomei, garnering nearly 180,000 followers.