Grand Song of the Dong ethnic group in Guizhou is the generic term of multi-part folk songs of Dong ethnic group. It is performed without instrumental accompaniment or a leader. Grand Song is performed by at least three performers, most of whom are in bass part and only one or two performers are in the high-pitch part. The main features of Grand Song lie in that it has multi parts and is performed without instrumental accompaniment or a leader. The most distinguishing feature of the creation of Grand Song is that performers mimick the sound of nature such as chirping, buzzing and water flowing sound which is also the natural origin of Grand Song. Grand Song is mainly about the praise of nature, labour, love and friendship and it reflects the harmony between human and nature as well as the harmony among people. Grand Song shows a bright, beautiful and harmonious art character, reflects the spirit of all-people participation and conveys the important information such as the ethnic life-style and social culture. Grand Song of the Dong ethnic group in Guizhou was successfully classified in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in September 2009.
