Tibetan Tangka Song and Dance: "Happiness on the Road"

The natural stone guitar, the almost extinct eagle flute and many other unique instruments, the original songs and dances from Tibet... The Tangka style song-and-dance show, "Happiness on the Road", just wrapped up its performances in Beijing in July. As the only contribution from Tibet to the Beijing Olympic Cultural Festival, "Happiness on the Road" not only sends its best wishes to the Olympics, but also opens a window for people to learn more about Tibetan culture. Let's hear the full story from reporter Liu Bing.

What you heard is a scene from "Happiness on the Road". It's called "Intoxicated in autumn". The original songs and dances by Tibetans transport audiences about a thousand miles away to the beautiful plateau of Tibet.

"Tibetan culture is an important part of Chinese culture; it contributes to Chinese culture through its strong and distinctive ethnic features. With the development of the Tibetan economy and cultural exchange with other cities, Tibet now faces a great opportunity for development. Thus we wanted to create something that told guests from home and abroad more about Tibetan culture and spirit."

That's Nima Tsering, director of Tibet autonomous region's Department of Culture.

This is the first time that traditional Tibetan culture has been portrayed through dances and songs. The singers' narration goes on in the background throughout the performance, during which five colors namely green, yellow, white, red, blue echo five different themes. Green stands for water, the source of life; yellow for earth, the love for a mother; and white is the wind, the angel of love; red, the fire color indicates a happy dream, while blue is the integration of the sky and human beings. The whole show reflects Tibetans' longing for a happy, harmonious life and the dramatic progress that has taken place in the region.

But why is the piece called Tangka? The director of "Happiness on the Road", Su Shijin explains.

"Tangka is a unique scroll painting in Tibet with strong decorative traits. Its color is rhythmic and bouncing, which matches Tibetan culture. In Tibet, singing and dancing is as normal as talking and walking; people communicate via poems. Thus, it might be the first time in China or even the world such performances are being done in a Tangka style."

"Happiness on the Road" starts with people praying for happiness. Along with the colorful light, vigorous and firm drum sound, deep and remote Tibetan songs, audiences immediately indulge themselves and pray for happiness too. But what is happiness? Su Shijin, explains.

"When we are pursuing happiness, then happiness is on the horizon. It's an eternal, ultimate goal for people."

Meanwhile, "Happiness on the Road" strives to explore the original art forms of Tibet. Su further introduces.

"We tried hard to explore original Tibetan art. People can see instruments that have never been shown on stage before. For instance, the stone guitar, which is made of natural stones, can make various sounds. The stone guitar has a history of over 1,000 years in Tibet. Also, we have the flute made of eagle leg bones. This flute is almost extinct now, and few artists know how to play it now across the country; also we have the six-stringed flute or liuxianqin, the intangible world heritage, songs without accompaniment …"

The song and dance "Happiness on the Road" gathers the best Tibetan artists specializing in folk songs, love songs, tap dance and Liuxianqin. What's more, many local farmers and herdsmen also joined the performance, adding to the overall atmosphere.

According to Su, besides telling people more about original Tibetan art, "Happiness on the Road" seeks to strike a balance between originality and internationality.

"We also try to look for a universal language, to allow more people to fall in love with Tibetan art. We invited famous composers, and they combined original Tibetan art with popular world elements, to make it both a feast for the eyes and ears. We people who have never been to Tibet will say, 'Oh, life in Tibet is like this!'"

"Happiness on the Road", which has already been performed in Tibet 60 times to critical acclaim, has had the same effect amid Beijing audiences.

"It's superb, very mysterious, I love the pure sound. I love Tibetan culture very much."

"It has very strong ethnic features, I have watched many performances by other Tibetan groups, but they don't explore Tibetan culture as deeply as this one; like the scene about Tibetan wedding ceremonies, this is my first time seeing it. And they perform it very well."

That is Mr Qian, who comes from Shandong province now living in Beijing. The senior citizen hopes to visit Tibet at least once in his life.

"I want so much to go to Tibet. See, I am asking them about the medicine Hong Jingtian (the medicine to cure altitude sickness). I hope I can go there one day…"

"Happiness on the Road" aims to position itself as a must-see performance for tourists in Tibet. It will be performed in Lhasa from April to October every day.