Nanyin takes to big stage at BRICS Summit

She recently expanded her nonprofit program to Fuzhou, capital of Fujian, and Shanghai, to nurture more amateur Nanyin learners.

"It doesn't matter when people don't understand the dialect," Cai said. "Not every opera fan understands Italian, but people always admire something beautiful."

According to Huang Tianfu, Xiamen's municipal officer in charge of intangible cultural heritage protection, the city has held an annual competition on Nanyin since 1998, and the traditional music genre has been added into the curriculum of local elementary schools.

Cai also had an open mind mixing Nanyin with other music forms. For instance, some orchestras have cooperated with her to look for a combination of the two music genres spanning East and West.

In the upcoming performance during the BRICS Summit, the China National Symphony Orchestra will include Nanyin in its repertoire.

"The combination doesn't have to simply put elements of Nanyin and typical Western music together," Cai said, without disclosing what listeners will hear. "It will be great if a musician can compose a new orchestra, which is inspired by the experiences of hearing Nanyin."