By Gavin Jon Mowat, People's Daily Online

Hanggai perform live

If you've ever wanted to experience the sounds of ethnic China but just don't seem to be able to find the time to get out of the city, then don't worry, you need go no further than Beijing's Dong Cheng District.

Beijing might not be the place you would expect to find a young group of musicians bringing you music that was meant for the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, but that's exactly what I got when I went to see Hanggai at the city's Yugongyishan music venue.

If you haven't been to Mongolia you could always go and see Hanggai take to the stage, where I guarantee their sounds will whisk you away to the Mongolian Steppe before you know it.

This group of guys from Beijing and Inner Mongolia have successfully fused traditional Mongolian throat -singing with a modern twist. They bled traditional Mongolian instruments with the tools of modern rock, and add to that the mesmerizing sounds of throat singing.

Excited by the prospect of experiencing a bit of one of the world's most unique cultures, I set off on a short taxi ride to one of Beijing's thriving hutong districts.

In anticipation of the performance ahead, on route to the gig I quizzed the taxi driver on his thoughts about the more traditional forms of Chinese music. Instead of lavishing praise on the rich variety of traditional music which has come out of China, he used the opportunity to unleash a tirade on the unsuspecting Zhou Jie Lun (Jay Chou, one of China's most successful performers).

The disgruntled taxi driver vented his aggression at modern music in general, merely citing the most famous ‘culprit' he could think of. "It's just loud noise! And that Zhou Jie Lun sings too fast!" he told me. "Know body speaks Chinese that fast, it's impossible to understand a word he says!"


Hanggai promotional picture

Taking his words with a pinch of salt my enthusiasm wasn't dampened and I continued on my way, looking forward to hearing a whole new vocal range that I would have less chance understanding than I would one of Jay's songs.

But that matters not, for I had been promised these sounds would "transcend language barriers".
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