Xinjiang's diverse culture and crucial trading role acknowledged by domestic and international acts, Chen Nan reports.

When dancers of the Xinjiang Art Theatre performed an excerpt of the dance piece Jula in Beijing last week, the audience got a glimpse of the Twelve Muqam — one of the four main regional styles that Xinjiang Uygur Muqam has developed.

Xinjiang Uygur Muqam is the general term for a variety of practices widespread among the Uygur communities, which includes songs, dances, folk and classical music and is characterized by diversity of content, choreography, musical styles and instruments used. It was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008 (originally proclaimed in 2005) by UNESCO.

The dance performance served as a curtain-raiser for the 6th China Xinjiang International Folk Dance Festival, which will be held in Urumqi, capital of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, from July 20 to Aug 5.

With the theme of Dancing Dreams and Harmonious Silk Road, the event, first launched in 2008, will stage 28 dance productions with about 60 performances, including ballet, folk dance, dance galas and dramas.