Saving the past to secure the future

Wearing masks throughout the performance, people have to rely on body gestures and resonating voices in dixi to express emotions. Zhan smiles when he says he may be bestowed with the special talent to take the relay baton. He is the 16th-generation dixi performer in his family.

He is always deeply emerged in his performance and often cries behind the mask. Taking the lead role in a series of historical-themed repertoires in the past decades and touching numerous fellow villagers and tourists from afar, he was registered as an inheritor of national-level intangible cultural heritage, or ICH, in 2008.

In Zhan's eyes, the opera marks a key cultural lineage of tunpu people, but he has concerns: his son's generation shows little interest in carrying on this family career.

"Many kids are interested though," he, now 70, says. "They're smart and hard-working. They'll surely exceed me, if they're willing to perform dixi in the future."

Nonetheless, as traditional lifestyle gives way to urbanization and fast-paced life, perhaps, many intangible cultural heritages, like Anshun dixi opera, seem to fade.