Promotional material for The Wings of Songs Photo: Courtesy of Zhao Zhao

The Wings of Songs, an upcoming Chinese movie to be released on March 28, will include eight pieces of music and four scenes of group dances to present the folk music and dance traditions from ethnic groups living in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to the film's songwriter Dong Yingda. 

The musical tells the story of three Xinjiang youngsters heading out on a trip to collect folk music and transform their findings into a new song to fulfill their music dream. 

Dong said that she hoped to express the charm of the story through the accompaniment of emotional music that features the strong ethnic characteristics of Xinjiang. 

To best capture the spirit of Xinjiang, Dong visited local arts troupes and folk musicians for inspiration. 

"Before the shooting started, we had visited the southern and northern parts of Xinjiang to find a proper place to set the story," she said. 

"Different from Bollywood movies, in which music rarely takes part in narrating the story," the music in The Wings of Songs merges the lines and dialogues of characters into its songs.