Journey to discover folk

On March 26, Gong set out on her journey and her first stop was a small village in Midu, a county in the Dali Bai autonomous prefecture in western Yunnan province, where Xiao He Tang Shui (A Little Stream), one of the most well-known folk songs of China, was born.

In 2015, when China's first lady Peng Liyuan, once a renowned singer, visited the Juilliard School of performing arts in New York, soprano Liv Redpath performed the piece during a celebration gala.

After a two-hour drive through the mountainous area, Gong found 78-year-old Li Caifeng, a national-level inheritor of local folk songs, who performed the song for Gong in the local dialect. She told Gong that she has been singing the song since she was 7 years old. Li also performed other local folk songs, such as Hong Wawa, a lullaby which has been passed down for generations.

"It's much more important to make twists while singing than to reach high notes, since singing is like telling stories," Li told Gong.

"When she sang, her voice was like wind blowing in my face, fresh and soothing. I learned so much from her, which was beyond my expectation," recalls Gong.

During her trip to Midu, Gong also met 71-year-old Li Longying, a regional-level inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, who sings Huadeng Opera, and 77-year-old Li Shouchang, a veteran performer and composer of the opera form, who heads a local troupe.