A large crowd of Tibetans－men and women, young and old－gather to give a Xianzi performance on a large tract of grassland in Markham county in the Tibet autonomous region's Chamdo. [Photo by Sun Fei/Xinhua]

To preserve the precious tradition, folk artists in Markham have been teaching and performing it in schools. The dance has also been adapted to gymnastic exercises in 30 primary and secondary schools in the county.

Several competitions have been held over the past few years, Changdren says.

"We're expecting more talented dance producers and performers to improve the creativity and performing skills of Xianzi, thus promoting tourism and our excellent Tibetan culture," he says.