Ansai district in Yan'an drums up prosperity with cultural tradition

Fengjiaying village, located in Ansai district of Yan'an city, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, is home to 246 accomplished waist drum performers.

For the people here, pounding out traditional rhythms is not just a matter of pride — it's also a livelihood. Villagers now earn an average of 5,000 yuan ($700) each month through performances that have taken them from rural fields to international stages in Germany and Australia.

Zhou Zhizhan, his son and two learners play waist drums in Ansai district, Yan'an city, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Wang Li)

"We spend only a few days at home and are on the road performing most of the year. We earn about 1,000 yuan per show," said Zhou Zhizhan, a local performer who, together with his older brother, started a waist drum troupe.

"We give around 200 performances each year, and each household earns over 40,000 yuan annually from these performances on average," Zhou added.

Ansai district was designated as the "hometown of the waist drum in China" in 1996. A decade later, the Ansai waist drum was added to the country's list of national intangible cultural heritage.

Fengjiaying, which has the highest concentration of performers in the district, has sent villagers to some of China's grandest stages, including the annual Spring Festival TV gala broadcast by China Media Group.

Zhou Zhizhan and his son play waist drums in Ansai district, Yan'an city, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Wang Li)

In recent years, Ansai district has taken an active role in promoting waist drum culture, offering instruction in schools, residential communities and local businesses. Three dedicated inheritance centers have been established to help preserve and transmit the tradition, and today, the district boasts more than 10,000 skilled waist drum performers.

In addition to performing, Zhou mentors aspiring drummers at one of the centers.

"Children mostly learn for free, while adults pay tuition. Once they master the techniques, they join troupes and start earning money. In the past two years alone, we've trained nearly 1,000 people," Zhou said.

The Ansai waist drum has now been recognized as a provincial-level labor brand in Shaanxi, supporting a full industrial chain encompassing training, performances, bookings and marketing.

Ansai has charted a distinctive path that blends labor brand development with the preservation of intangible cultural heritage, said Niu Tao, deputy head of the district's employment service center.