Harmonic Heritage: Qeelin and Lay Zhang Celebrate Dong Ethnic Music and Culture

The Asian fine jewellery brand's latest film tribute is a moving blend of haute jewellery, heritage music, and cultural preservation

qeelin lay zhang — All Photos: Courtesy of Qeelin and Shang Cheng Shi

In celebration of the Year of the Snake, Asian fine jewellery house Qeelin has released a short film that pays homage to one of China’s most enduring—and least widely known—cultural traditions: the choral music of the Dong ethnic group. Set against the verdant backdrop of the Guizhou Plateau in southwestern China, the film features Qeelin’s global brand ambassador, singer and actor Lay Zhang, alongside a chorus of Dong vocalists whose ancestral songs have been passed down for more than 2,500 years.

The film, part cultural documentation and part artistic tribute, seeks to bridge traditional Chinese heritage with contemporary aesthetics. At its centre is the polyphonic “Grand Song of the Dong Ethnic People,” a UNESCO-recognised Intangible Cultural Heritage that serves as a living oral history. In a culture without a written language, this music encodes social customs, collective memory, and community structure through harmonised vocal arrangements that mimic the natural world—birdsong, running water, the rustle of trees.

Filmed in the villages of Zhaoxing and Huanggang in Liping County, the campaign captures local residents in vibrant ethnic attire performing dances and songs that have marked seasonal celebrations for centuries. Zhang, seated at a grand piano and adorned in pieces from Qeelin’s signature Wulu collection, performs a piano arrangement of “Challenges Overcame, Village Established,” while the Dong chorus responds in layered harmony.

The jewellery showcased in the cinematic film—primarily from Qeelin’s signature Wulu collection—features gourd-shaped motifs drawn from Chinese folklore, believed to bring protection and good fortune. The collection, rendered in materials such as red agate, onyx, and diamond, offers a contemporary interpretation of cultural themes that have endured for millennia.

Qeelin’s presence in the region is more than symbolic. In 2024, the brand expanded its commitment to heritage preservation by collaborating with the Dunhuang Academy and the China Dunhuang Grottoes Conservation Research Foundation to support research into ancient jewellery traditions from the Sui and Tang dynasties.

The campaign is both a celebration of the new year and a subtle act of cultural preservation. As global luxury brands increasingly look to heritage storytelling for creative inspiration, Qeelin’s project stands out for its sincerity and depth. In giving voice—literally and metaphorically—to a centuries-old musical tradition, the film gestures not only to the past, but also to the possibilities of cultural continuity in a rapidly modernising world.