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Dali Folk Songs: The Bai and Yi Music Behind Midu

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Sep 19, 2026
Bai family in traditional embroidered dress and headdresses at a doorway in Xizhou, Dali, Yunnan

Dali folk songs are the reason a 400-year-old tune from one small Yunnan county could go viral at all. Most people met this music through the phonk remix of Midu Echoing, with its hand-gesture dance. However, that track is one thread in a much bigger fabric. In Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, singing is still how people court, argue, pray and party. Two peoples carry most of it: the Bai and the Yi.

So if the remix made you curious, here is the world it came from. And, just as usefully, here is where you can still hear it live.

What Dali Folk Songs Actually Are

First, a quick map. Dali is a prefecture in western Yunnan, not only the famous old town by Erhai Lake. The Bai are its namesake people. Meanwhile, the Yi live mostly in the southern hills, in counties such as Weishan and Nanjian. Midu sits between the two, which explains a lot.

Broadly, the music splits into three families:

  • Bai mountain songs — improvised duets, often sung to a three-string lute.
  • Bai narrative singing — long sung stories called Daben Qu (大本曲).
  • Yi dage (打歌) — circle dances where the song and the stamping feet are one thing.

China lists all three as national intangible cultural heritage. So is the Midu repertoire itself, which the state registered in 2011 as project II-145. Its official entry covers Han and minority songs alike: mountain songs, little tunes, dance songs and ritual songs (China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, n.d.-d). In other words, Midu is a crossroads, not an island.

Bai Dali Folk Songs: Duets You Make Up on the Spot

The heart of Bai singing is the song duel. Two singers, usually a man and a woman, trade verses. Each answer has to be improvised, and it should be wittier than the last. Traditionally, this was also how young people found partners. You sang your interest. If the reply was sharp and warm, well, that told you something.

The verses follow a fixed shape. Bai poets call it the “mountain flower” form: three lines of seven syllables, then one of five. Officially, it is written as “3-7-1-5” (China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, n.d.-a). That tight frame is what makes improvising possible. Singers fill a known mould with new words, rather like a blues singer working inside twelve bars.

Then there is the instrument. In Jianchuan, north of Dali, singers accompany themselves on a dragon-head sanxian, a three-string lute with a carved dragon on the pegbox. Picture a banjo player at a bluegrass jam, only the jam is a courtship.

Daben Qu: the storytelling side

Not every Bai song is a duel, though. Daben Qu is sung storytelling from the Erhai Lake area. According to its heritage file, it grew out of Tang dynasty narrative recitation and matured by the Ming. Traditionally, one singer performs with a fan or handkerchief. A second musician plays the sanxian. The sung lines are in the Bai language, while the spoken narration switches to Mandarin. Its melodic system is summed up as “three timbres, nine rhythms, eighteen tunes” (China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, n.d.-a).

For a Western reference point, think of a ballad singer working through a long story song. The plots often come from Chinese opera. Yet the moral tone, heavy on filial duty, is very local.

Yi Dage: Where Dali Folk Songs Meet the Dance Floor

Head south to Weishan and the music changes character. Here, the Yi practice dage, literally “beating song.” People form rings around a bonfire, link arms, and stamp out the rhythm while trading verses. Xinhua sums it up in one line: they “circle the fire, keep time with their feet, and answer song with song” (Xinhua, 2025).

Some details are worth knowing before you join in:

  • A reed pipe (lusheng) and a bamboo flute lead the dance. A three-string lute sometimes joins.
  • One or more “song leaders” call the verses. Everyone else answers.
  • In western Weishan, men and women form alternating half-circles. In the east, couples move anticlockwise.
  • The steps work the hips and legs. The formation itself changes little.

Dage appears in a Qing gazetteer from 1807, which already describes people dancing through the night. It was listed as national heritage in 2008 as project III-70 (China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, n.d.-b). Traditionally, it belongs to Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival and weddings. It also belongs to the Torch Festival, which our guide to the Yi Torch Festival covers in depth.

The closest Western cousin? Probably an Irish céilí or a Greek village circle dance. Everyone joins, nobody performs, and the tune only works if the whole room moves. Honestly, that is also why the Midu gesture dance spread so fast. The instinct is the same: music you do, not music you watch.

Where to Hear Dali Folk Songs Live

This is where most English guides stop. Yet the calendar matters, because the best singing happens at specific gatherings.

Shibaoshan Song Festival (Jianchuan)

This is the big one for Bai singing. It runs from the 27th day of the seventh lunar month to the first day of the eighth, on Shibao Mountain. Singers come from Jianchuan, Eryuan, Lijiang, Dali and Lanping. The festival mixes improvised duets with temple visits and local deity worship. It is said to be over a thousand years old, and it became national heritage in 2008 (China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, n.d.-c).

In 2026, the main days on the mountain fell on 8–10 September. The program included song contests, dragon-head sanxian playing and evening bonfires. A wider heritage week ran in Jianchuan from 4 September (Kaiping News, 2026). Because the date follows the lunar calendar, it moves each year. Usually, though, it lands in late August or September.

Shibao Mountain sits near Shaxi, an old Tea Horse Road market town. Shaxi makes the easiest base. Expect a drive of roughly two to three hours from Dali, because no train reaches the area.

Third Month Fair (Dali City)

If your trip is in spring, aim for this one. It starts on the 15th day of the third lunar month and lasts seven days. Its roots go back to the Tang dynasty, and it too became national heritage in 2008 (China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, n.d.-e). In 2026, it ran from 1 to 7 May, at the foot of Cangshan Mountain. The program included horse racing, markets and folk singing contests (Yunnan Net, 2026).

Weishan old town, any evening

For dage, Weishan calls itself the “hometown of Yi dage.” Xinhua photographed dancers in the square by Gongchen Tower and along Nanzhao Ancient Street (Xinhua, 2025). Festival nights are the safest bet. Still, it is worth asking your guesthouse whether a circle is forming that week. Weishan is an easy side trip if you are already staying in Dali.

How to Enjoy Dali Folk Songs as a Visitor

  • Join the circle if invited. Dage is participatory by design. Nobody expects perfect steps. Watch the person next to you and copy the feet.
  • Don’t film a duet at arm’s length. Courtship songs can be personal. Step back, or ask first.
  • Learn one line. Even a single Bai or Yi greeting earns real goodwill.
  • Bring cash as well as your phone. Village stalls mostly take mobile payment, but a signal can drop on a mountain.
  • Check the date twice. Lunar festivals shift every year. The county government usually confirms the program only a few weeks before.

One more thing. You will not follow the lyrics, and that is fine. Watch the listeners instead. The laughter tells you when a verse has landed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Midu Echoing a Bai song or a Yi song?

Neither, strictly. Midu’s official heritage listing covers both Han and minority songs from the county. Its mountain songs draw on Han, Bai and Yi traditions, which is why the melody feels familiar across the region.

When is the best time to hear Dali folk songs?

Go in spring for the Third Month Fair in Dali City, usually in April or May. Go in late summer for the Shibaoshan Song Festival in Jianchuan, usually in August or September. Both follow the lunar calendar, so check the exact dates each year.

Can foreigners join a Yi dage circle?

Generally, yes. Dage is a communal dance, and visitors are often pulled into the ring. Follow the rhythm of the feet, link arms as others do, and don’t worry about the lyrics.

Do I need to speak Chinese to enjoy these songs?

No. Many verses are in the Bai or Yi languages anyway, so most Chinese visitors cannot follow them either. The rhythm, the dance and the crowd carry the experience.

References

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