Members of the Quanzhou Municipal Nanyin Band attend a rehearsal at a Nanyin heritage center in Quanzhou, East China's Fujian province on March 1. [Photo/Xinhua]

Nanyin, originating in Quanzhou, is a musical performing art sung in the Minnan dialect mainly spoken by residents in the southern part of Fujian province.

Dubbed "a living fossil in the Chinese musical history," Nanyin is deemed one of the country's oldest music styles and was listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.

In recent years, local authorities have taken enhanced measures to protect and hand down this musical art including building professional Nanyin performance bands and academic research institutions, launching a Nanyin recording project, holding international Nanyin concert and promoting Nanyin in schools and communities, which have all proved effective and rewarding.