Hani ancient ballad performed inside China Pavilion in Expo Milano (9)

Local residents and artists from China's Yunnan Province perform the Hani ancient ballad inside the China Pavilion at the ongoing Expo Milano 2015 in the Italian northern city on June 13, 2015. The multi-part ballad is a folk program of songs and dances reflecting the history and culture of the villages of Hani people surrounded by rice terraces in Yuanyang County of Yunnan Province and is the only live performance inside the China Pavilion. Added to the National Intangible Heritage List in 2008, Hani songs and dances originally accompanied laborers in the terraced fields of Yunnan province. In 2013, the terraced fields of Yunnan province became a world heritage site. They are believed to have been around for over 1,300 years, the same length of time as the Hani ancient ballad. (Xinhua/Zhou Lei)