(Yan'an, a few well-known folk singers of the area, who sang in highly decorative and sustained high falsetto notes with dramatic melodic patterns reflecting the landscape of this very mountainous region.)
(A small museum of stone carving from the Han dynasty. These were from stone walls inside small important tombs. Carvings of musicians on the walls further convinced people that the instruments SHENG (mouth organ) and ZHENG (a koto-like zither) existed in China two thousand years ago. There were also drummers and elaborate dances carved on the wall.)
(The fascinating thing about this style is the performance practice discrepancy between the singing part (mostly male imitating female voices) and the instrumental accompaniment: the later remains in the southern style which is still evident in forms like Jiangnan Sizhu (southern chamber music ensemble playing), while the former is strongly influenced by the folksong style from the region. (See the Shaanbei parts of the Silk Road Journal by Bright Sheng))