GURVANSAIKHAN, Mongolia, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia held a major folk art festival in its southern province of Dundgovi over the weekend in a bid to attract more tourists.
Called "The Sun Over the Placid World," the festival was held at an open-air theater in Ikh Gazriin Chuluu, a mountain area in Gurvansaikhan soum of the province.
Around 3,300 local traditional long song singers and players of the morin khuur, a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument also known as the horse-headed-fiddle, presented iconic works during the two-day festival.
"The festival is aimed at boosting the country's tourism by promoting Mongolian folk art internationally," Jambalsuren Munkhchuluun, head of the organizing committee of the event, told Xinhua.
"Mongolia has set a goal of hosting one million foreign tourists and earning one billion U.S. dollars in 2020. To help achieve this goal, our province is organizing the traditional folk art festival for the first time under the auspices of the Mongolian Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports," said Munkhchuluun, who is also the vice governor of Dundgovi province.
It was estimated that the festival attracted a total of 15,000 domestic and foreign visitors.
Located about 240 km away from the capital city of Ulan Bator, Dundgovi Province is nicknamed "the land of songs and music" as many famous Mongolian singers are from this province.
