Classic drum thrives after taking a beating

A 600-year-old percussionist tradition is still beating thanks to innovation, the perseverance of three generations and an enthusiastic battalion of young drummers.

A row of brightly dressed percussionists danced and swung drums over their heads, and soon the 40 performers were thrashing the life out of the instruments. They were converged at Water Cart Park in Lanzhou, Gansu province, and the thunderous din stirred the watching crowd into raucous applause.

It was all part of the Taiping Drum Dance, now closely linked with Lanzhou, and a tradition that just 10 years ago seemed to be on the verge of entering eternal silence.