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]

Tashi Wangdu learned Xianzi from his father and brother when he was 5 and now teaches his grandson when he has time.

The veteran dancer arrived at the grassland stage a day early to prepare. On performance day, he wore a brand-new Tibetan costume and put his long hair in a ponytail.

Their performance lasted more than half an hour. Beads of sweat dotted Tashi Wangdu's forehead, and he wiped them away with smile lines appearing in the outer corners of his eyes.