On 25 June 2023, during the World Record Challenge hosted in Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, an intangible cultural heritage event with the theme “Stand on Mount Everest, Enjoy Thousands of Heavenly Chords” took place. A total of 1,000 participants participated in the Shigatse folk dance performance, Verified by the WRCA the event has set the world record for the “Largest Performance of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Shigatse Folk Dance”.
Around 11 a.m., the event officially began. Accompanied by powerful drumbeats, performers from various counties dressed in festive attire. Their unique folk dance styles, such as “Dui Xie,” “Luo Xie,” and “Sima Zhuo,” showcased the enduring charm of the Everest culture. In a multi-layered semi-circular formation, they transformed into shapes like the sun, moon, and stars. A thousand dancers from Shigatse, also adorned in festive costumes, danced to changing melodies, expressing their love and admiration for today’s happy life and their longing for a better tomorrow. The beauty of intangible cultural heritage was on full display.
The large-scale intangible cultural heritage dance performance, “Stand on Mount Everest, Enjoy Thousands of Heavenly Chords” held in Shigatse, Tibet, featured three traditional folk dances: “Dui Xie,” “Sima Zhuo,” and “Lazi Dui Xie.” The first part showcased the transformative changes in the lives of farmers and herders, while the second part highlighted the authentic traditional dances from various counties. The third part beautifully portrayed the new face of people’s happy lives. This unique performance aimed to elevate the “Thousands of Heavenly Chords” dance form and presentation to the global stage for the first time.
Shigatse has rich, profound, and colorful intangible cultural heritage, with 238 intangible cultural heritage projects at various levels and 389 statutory inheritors. In recent years, thanks to scientific protection, orderly inheritance, and reasonable development and utilization in Shigatse City, these ancient traditional cultures have emerged with new vitality through creative transformation and innovative development.