The Grand Song of the Dong Ethnic Festival opened on Monday with hundreds of Dong ethnic singers harmonizing during the opening performance in Congjiang county, Southwest China's Guizhou province.

There were 1,320 singers in 60 groups from 10 of the county's townships competing in the festival. Their ages ranged from 4 to 80.

Dong Grand Song was listed on the masterpiece list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2006. This musical form calls for no accompaniment, so the singers perform a cappella, or without instruments.

Performers from Xiaohuang village in the county sang at an art show in Paris in 1986.

Besides a singing contest, the festival featured a cooking competition and an embroidery show to demonstrate traditional Dong ethnic culture in a bid to attract more tourists.

The Dong ethnic group, with a population of 2.87 million, lives mainly in the Southwest part of China.

Villagers perform the Grand Song of the Dong ethnic group during a local festival at Xiaohuang village in Congjiang county, Southwest China's Guizhou province, on Nov 28, 2016. [Photo by Li Chaofu/Asianewsphoto]