Song's story helps introduce Qinghai charms

It was a joke, a bit of horseplay, literally, that became a much-loved song. In 1939, when songwriter Wang Luobin was with other crew members on a set in the Jinyintan Grassland in Northwest China's Qinghai province, he got to know a Tibetan girl who had a part in the film. One day Wang wanted to play a joke on her and whipped the horse she was riding. The horse bolted and she nearly fell off. The girl later got her own back on him. The experience, along with the beautiful scenery, became an inspiration for Wang to create his later famous work At A Faraway Place based on a folk song of the Kazak ethnic group.

The song became better known when it was subsequently translated into English and performed by famous singers like Paul Leroy Robeson, Diana Ross and Jose Carreras. The famous song made Qinghai a coveted destination for many people who lived, as the title suggests, far away.

The genesis of the song was highlighted when a group of Taiwan guests visited a music and art museum in memory of Wang, as part of a cultural and tourist activity to promote friendship between the mainland and Taiwan in July.

Organized by the Chinese Culture Friendship Association, the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots and Qinghai People's Government, the activity invited more than 150 guests who work in the fields of culture, tourism, media and art from the mainland and Taiwan to visit Qinghai.

People who took part in the activity visited many places in Qinghai, including Qinghai Lake, and places where ethnic groups in Qinghai live, like Huzhu county where the Tu ethnic group resides and Xunhua county, home of the Salar ethnic group.

According to Zhang Xu, vice-minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, people from the mainland and Taiwan have shared cultural roots. He hopes this activity can encourage people to explore new ways for cultural and tourist communication and cooperation between Qinghai and Taiwan.

"The Qinghai Lake left a deep impression on me," says Tonk Hsueh, a Taiwan director based in Wuhan city now. "The natural landscape amazed me. The lake seemed like a sea. The mountains were high and clouds seemed to be wandering beside the mountains.

"The tour also made me see different ethnic groups who live harmoniously together. I felt a connection with them," he adds.

After visiting the attractions, guests actively offered suggestions for the development of tourism in Qinghai. For example, Prince Lee, a Taiwan artist based in Shanghai, advised combining the beautiful scenery in Qinghai with art forms, holding performances against the backdrop of Qinghai Lake, or staging a concert in the valley, to attract more tourists.

Yok Mu-ming, former president of the New Party of Taiwan, says he has felt the cultural connotations and tourist value of Qinghai, and hopes young people from the mainland and Taiwan visit the place and get to know the magnificence of the country's scenery, jointly work to promote the great rejuvenation of the nation.

"Qinghai no longer symbolizes somewhere far for me. Now it's in my heart," says James Lin, a guest from Taiwan based in Hangzhou city.