In April 2004, the Ministry of Culture of China approved “Xi’an Drum Music” to be listed in the second batch of professional pilot projects for the protection of Chinese ethnic and folk culture. In June of the same year, on behalf of the Chinese government, the Ministry of Culture submitted an application to UNESCO to include “Xi’an Drum Music”into the world intangible cultural heritage protection project. The State Council of China has listed “Xi’an Drum Music” in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage on May 20, 2006. On September 30, 2009, UNESCO officially listed “Xi’an Drum Music” as the world intangible cultural heritage at the fourth Intergovernmental Committee meeting held in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

“Xi’an Drum Music”could date back to Han Dynasty and flourished in Sui and Tang dynasty. It is the “Tang Daqu” of the Tang court, which has spread for more than 1300 years since Tang Dynasty. “Xi’an Drum Music” is one of the most completely preserved large folk instrumental music species found in China so far and still has its own stage. At present, when musicians and historians at home and abroad study Chinese drum music, they all focus on the “Xi’an Drum Music”. It has rich melody, rigorous form and distinct style, and is known as “ancient Chinese symphony”. Because of its primitive way of inheritance, the charm of music has been taught by folk music masters, musicians and artists for more than a thousand years. Up to now, it has experienced a lot of vicissitudes and many disasters of life and death, so that “Xi’an Drum Music” has left us a real history of Chinese national music.