Uygur artists keep ethnic musical heritage alive in NW China’s Xinjiang

Muqam is a traditional art of the Uygur ethnic group in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. “Muqam” means “classic music” in the modern Uygur language. It shows the colorful life of the Uygurs through various artistic forms such as music, literature, dance, and drama.

Muhamude Tuerxun Balati is a singer of the Xinjiang Muqam Art Troupe. He, among with other artists of the troupe, collects, sorts out, does research, and inherits the Muqam art and presents it on the stage.

Muqam art is a treasure in the splendid treasure house of Chinese cultures, Muhamude Tuerxun Balati said. In 2005, the Xinjiang Uygur Muqam of China was approved by UNESCO as an intangible heritage of humanity.