Zhuang Lifen, an award-winning Nanyin artist, attends a rehearsal at a Nanyin heritage center in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, March 1, 2019. Originating in Quanzhou, Nanyin is a musical performing art sung in the Minnan dialect mainly spoken by residents in the southern part of Fujian Province. Dubbed "a living fossil in the Chinese musical history," Nanyin is deemed one of the country's oldest music styles and was listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. In recent years, Quanzhou authorities have taken enhanced measures to protect and hand down this musical art. A series of measures such as building professional Nanyin performance bands and academic research institutions, launching a Nanyin recording project, holding international Nanyin concert and promoting Nanyin in schools and communities have all proved effective and rewarding. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)
