Every afternoon, He Xuejun changes into traditional Naxi clothing and walks into a courtyard tucked away in the narrow lanes of the Old Town of Lijiang.
A few hours later, he stands beside a small stage, introducing ancient Naxi songs and dances to visitors from around the world at the historical hotspot in Yunnan province.
There are no microphones or speakers. More than a dozen performers simply open their mouths, and the layered harmonies of Naxi ethnic group's polyphonic singing rise through the courtyard's wooden beams and old walls. "We are a group of people brought together by a shared passion," He says.
A native of Lijiang, He studied the Naxi language for seven years at Yunnan Minzu University. After graduating in 2016, he followed his teacher to Tiandiyuan, "Heaven and Earth Courtyard", and has stayed ever since.
The courtyard, which dates back more than 170 years, retains the traditional Naxi residence's architectural layout, with three buildings surrounding a central courtyard and a decorative screen wall. "The Naxi group sees heaven as their father and earth as their mother," He explains. "They believe in worshipping and respecting nature."
Every day, the courtyard hosts three performances. The first is a public show at Sifang Street, the heart of the Old Town of Lijiang, while two afternoon performances are held inside the courtyard.
During peak tourism seasons, these performances receive 900 to 1,000 visitors a day.
The performers come from different generations. Several of the troupe's 15 to 16 members are over the age of 50.
"Some of them are farmers working in the fields in the morning. They arrive at the courtyard after 1 pm to prepare for performances," he says. The income is modest, he adds, but many stay because they want to preserve their traditions.
The 52-minute performance features Naxi dances, folk songs, traditional instruments, and audience interaction. Each piece carries cultural memories.
The Dongba sword dance, for example, reflects the courage of Naxi ancestors in their legends of fighting evil spirits. The Leba dance was traditionally performed to welcome men returning from journeys along the ancient Tea Horse Road.
One of the most distinctive performances is the Naxi ritual song known as Remeicuo, which was originally associated with funeral ceremonies. Today, its lyrics have been adapted to express themes of sustainable development and respect for nature.
"The performances are all in the Naxi language," He says. "Apart from the welcoming song, which has been translated into Chinese, the others remain in their original form."
For him, that authenticity matters. "We do not use microphones or sound systems. That is what makes our performance special."
Tiandiyuan was originally established by Naxi culture advocate He Xueguang as a center for cultural education. Over the years, it has hosted dozens of training programs, passing traditional knowledge from older generations to younger learners. In January, the courtyard held its 70th training session. Over the years, these sessions have taught Naxi language, traditional dance and ritual music to everyone from children to taxi drivers to retirees.
"Many inheritors are getting older, but they still come here because they want to pass their skills on to younger people," He says.
Tiandiyuan is one of more than 30 cultural courtyards scattered across the Old Town of Lijiang, each offering a different window into local traditions. They cover traditional crafts, folk customs, music, and former residences of cultural figures.
The town began developing those cultural courtyards in 2007 as part of efforts to diversify the functions of its historical buildings.
Together, they aimed not just to preserve the past but to allow traditions to evolve in everyday life, according to local authorities.
Down another alley, He Runyuan is busy showing visitors the meaning behind various Dongba characters at the Naxi Pictographic Script Painting Experience Hall.
A symbol combining a hand and a tiger is pronounced lala in the Naxi language, meaning "health", he says, adding that Dongba is the script and Naxi is the language.
The Dongba script is used to write the Naxi language. But unlike an alphabet, where letters represent sounds, each Dongba character can represent an entire word or even a whole sentence. "Dongba script has more than 1,400 individual characters, and more than 3,000 combinations," He Runyuan says.
Dongba script is widely recognized as one of the world's few surviving pictographic writing systems. It is written daily on paper, on paintings, on souvenirs designed by local artists.
In 2003, ancient Dongba manuscripts were included in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. The more than 30,000 volumes preserve records of Naxi knowledge, including astronomy, geography, medicine and rituals.
"The biggest feature of Dongba script is that writing and painting are connected," He Runyuan says. "The characters are pictures, and the pictures are characters."
A native of Lijiang, he began learning Dongba culture at the age of 13.
Since the experience center opened in 2016, he has spent nearly a decade introducing Dongba culture to visitors.
Today, the center welcomes more than 200,000 visitors annually, with peak days reaching 3,000. It offers free admission, while hands-on activities charge only a small materials fee. Visitors can make Dongba paper, write traditional characters and create their own artworks.
"Some cultural venues mainly allow visitors to look around," He Runyuan notes. "We encourage them to sit down, participate and bring the culture home with them."
In another part of the Old Town of Lijiang, the newly opened Xuan Ke and Naxi ancient music museum has given an old tradition a new home. The music performed there has echoed for more than four decades.
"Naxi ancient music, the museum and Xuan Ke's study room form one whole," says Wen Jia, the museum's director and son-in-law of the late musician Xuan Ke, a renowned ethnomusicologist, researcher and promoter of Naxi ancient music.
Public performances of Naxi ancient music began in the 1980s and have been continued without interruption for more than 40 years. Two performances are held every evening.
"Even if there is only one audience member, we still perform," Wen says. "If we stop playing, people may think the tradition no longer exists. And if the instruments are not played for a long time, they cannot maintain their sound."
The museum's four exhibition halls trace the origins, inheritance and development of Naxi ancient music. Visitors can learn about traditional instruments, watch artisans making instruments and experience the ancient gongche musical notation system that records notes with Chinese characters such as shang and gong, no staff lines, no sharps or flats.
"Naxi ancient music is a living continuation of traditional Chinese music that traveled from the Central Plains to Lijiang," Wen says. "It reflects centuries of cultural exchange."
Its secret lies in balancing tradition and creativity. "The main melody cannot change," Wen explains. "Everyone must reach the same notes. But the embellishments are where each musician adds personal expression." That combination has helped the music survive.
During Xuan Ke's lifetime, he led an ensemble he founded in the 1980s to perform in more than 20 countries, prompting researchers from around the world to study the tradition.
Today, Wen continues the work. "The music has survived because people need it," he says. "Not just to remember the past but to understand who they are."
