From Aug 17 to 19 the first Desert Music Festival will be held on the Ulan Buh Desert, the country's eighth-largest, in Dengkou county of Bayannuur, Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Co-initiated by famous tenor Dai Yuqiang, the festival will feature 188 award-winning young singers selected from a music education program launched by Dai. The program aims to train 1,000 music teachers for 100 Chinese counties. It also supports musicians from rural China.

Songwriter Fu Lin. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Veteran musicians, headlined by Dai and joined by songwriter Fu Lin, soprano Chen Liru and Qi Bolag, a morin huurplayer from Inner Mongolia, formed the judging committee for the program. They will perform together during the outdoor festival.

The top six participants will be awarded 100,000 yuan ($14,800) each during the festival.