The grassland experiences of Hulunbuir go beyond the thrill of galloping across the plains—there is also the spiritual resonance of Khoomei. Sitting amid the open meadows, listening to an ancient ethnic song, you feel the unique charm of nomadic art in its raw, living sound.

Khoomei is a remarkable vocal art, the oldest sound of the Inner Mongolian grasslands. Its special quality is that one singer can produce two vocal parts at once. The low drone is deep and steady, rolling on like the vast earth; the bright overtone is clear and soaring, sweeping past like a crisp wind over the plains. The two voices interweave naturally—low passages flowing like a slow river, rising passages like ten thousand horses thundering across the meadow. In one short song, the boundless spirit of the grassland unfolds.

This ancient singing technique has been inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. To hear Khoomei live on the grassland, with the sound surging toward you alongside the wind and the scent of grass, is to feel its plain, powerful tenderness. In that moment, you understand how a single voice can carry the whole grassland—its rivers, its mountains, its ages.

(Photo: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Culture and Tourism Department)