International Voices Join Baisha’s Cultural Festival and the Premiere of Homeland of the Stars

Baisha’s rainforest and terraced mountain rice fields set the scene on November 29 for the premiere of Homeland of the Stars, an original song introduced at the 2025 Rainforest and You Shanlan Culture Festival.

The event took place at Yacha Town’s Rice Farming Park and was jointly organized by several talent service organizations based in Hainan, including the Hainan International Talent Contact Service Workstation, Haikou International Talent Home, its Foreign Expert Work Space, the Friendly Foreign Relations liaison workstation, and the Longhua Fuan “Migratory Bird” Talent Workstation.

Emily, the song’s Cameroonian composer, attended the launch in person. Haikou International Talent Home also brought more than ten international professionals to take part, adding a global element to the celebration.

The festival is one of Baisha’s major cultural programs this year. With the theme “Preserving Millennia-Old Mountain Rice, Enjoying Rainforest Moments”, it is hosted by the Baisha Li Autonomous County Committee and County Government. The broader aim is to highlight Li ethnic traditions while linking cultural heritage with the region’s ecological resources. The song’s debut reflects an effort to include international talent in the cultural landscape of the Hainan Free Trade Port.

Emily has lived in Hainan for eight years. Drawn to Chinese language and culture, she came to the island from Cameroon in 2016 to study. She now performs Hainanese folk music and takes part in cultural exchange activities across the Free Trade Port. She says Baisha’s starry rainforest skies and stepped rice terraces remind her of home, and that the song grew out of that sense of connection. Through her involvement with programs run by Haikou International Talent Home, she has developed a creative style that blends local themes with an international sensibility.

According to Pi Jinyu, operations manager of Haikou International Talent Home, the event marks another step in ongoing cooperation between Baisha and the growing international community in Hainan. Since 2021, the organization has helped bring in more than 500 foreign professionals and has organized volunteer initiatives in Baisha.

Contributing to the creation and launch of Homeland of the Stars, Pi said, is an example of international talent engaging directly with local cultural projects and supporting the Free Trade Port’s development. It also offers new global perspectives for integrating agriculture, culture, and tourism.

The premiere incorporated traditional Li musical instruments, blending Emily’s composition with Li vocal styles to create a cross-cultural performance. The song was broadcast live by the Baisha Media Convergence Center and several provincial media outlets.

The 2025 “La’Aomen” festival also featured exhibitions of intangible cultural heritage, a farmers’ marketplace, and ethnic sports events. The involvement of international talent added new energy to Baisha’s longstanding Shanlan culture, helping present this heritage in a more open and outward-looking setting.