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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.