Yunnan has more ethnic groups than any other province in China - around twenty-five recognised, including the Yi, Bai, Dai, Naxi, Hani, Lisu, Miao, Tibetan, Wa and Lahu - and music and dance are central to how they mark festival, work and courtship. That has produced both a lively amateur tradition in the villages and a commercial stage industry for visitors, and the two are worth distinguishing between.
The big productions
The best-known show is a large piece built around Yunnan's folk music and dance, created in the early 2000s and still the reference point for this kind of performance. It put village material on a professional stage without smoothing all the edges off it, and it toured internationally. Since then Lijiang, Dali, Xishuangbanna and Shangri-La have all acquired their own nightly productions, usually in a purpose-built theatre with a mixture of dance, costume, drumming, acrobatics and a light show. They are professionally staged and unashamedly commercial, and the quality varies a great deal from one to the next.
The village and festival performances
The better experience is often a festival in an actual village. The Dai of Xishuangbanna perform the peacock dance, with its imitation of the bird's steps and its long, curved movements of the arms; the Bai of the Erhai basin have their own operatic singing and the slow circular dance performed at festivals; the Yi of the mountains have call-and-response songs and a fast, stamping dance; the Naxi of Lijiang maintain a formal orchestra tradition of Taoist-related ancient music that is played by elderly musicians and is unlike anything else in the province. Around the Dai New Year in April and the torch festivals of the summer, and at temple fairs across the region, these are performed publicly and for themselves rather than for an audience of tourists.
Practical notes
Commercially staged shows run nightly in the main towns and can be booked through hotels, with tickets ranging from cheap to expensive depending on the seat; expect an hour and a half and a lot of colour. Village performances happen on festival dates and are free or nearly so, but require being in the right place at the right time, which means checking local calendars. For the Naxi orchestras in Lijiang, small daily performances are held in the old town and are inexpensive. Wherever you see live music or dance, ask before photographing performers, particularly in a religious context.
