Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Richard Feynman (1918-88) dreamed about visiting Tuva but never managed to get there. He once gave American ethnomusicologist Ted Levin recordings of Tuvan khoomei, a unique throat-singing technique where the performer produces two or more notes simultaneously. Overwhelmed by this mysterious sound, Levin then traveled to Tuva in 1987 where he met the four musicians who would go on to form the group Huun-Huur-Tu.

Formed in 1992, Huun-Huur-Tu, which means "sunshine" in Tuvinian, released their first album 60 Horses in My Herd in 1993, and made their debut in the United States later the same year, thanks largely to Levi's efforts. This helped the band gain global recognition and set them up to become ambassadors for the little-known region.

With more than 200 performances worldwide now annually, Huun-Huur-Tu made their debut tour in China in 2014 and have been frequent visitors to the country ever since.

The band will join in the upcoming Stallion World Music Festival which will be held jointly in Beijing and Shanghai this September. The band will also perform in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, Zhuhai, Guangdong province, and Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region in the same month.

"We are inspired by nature. Our music makes you strong and peaceful," Sayan Bapa, 56, one of the founding members of the band, tells China Daily via email. "The lyrics are poetic and like maps of Tuva, portray the sky, mountains and air. If you have never been to Tuva, you can imagine its landscapes just by listening to our songs."

Part of the Russian Federation, the autonomous republic of Tuva is located in southern Siberia on the border with Mongolia, and has a population of just 300,000. The region has a rich ancient history based around nomadic life and hunting.

Bapa was born to a Tuvan father and Russian mother in the industrial town of Ak-Dovurakthe. He learned traditional Tuvan songs and khoomei from his family and friends, "who are not professional singers, but sing very well".

"We are grateful that our ancestors gave this powerful gift to us," says Bapa, who also plays a three-stringed doshpuluur (Tuvan lute). He also adds that the technique of khoomei also has a practical purpose, which is said to calm their herding animals or attract wild animals during a hunt.

Huun-Huur-Tu's three other musicians are all masters of different styles of khoomei and Tuvan traditional musical instruments. Radik Tulush plays the four-stringed byzaanchi and flute-like shoor, Kaigal-ool Khovalyg plays his bowed two-stringed igil, while Alexei Saryglar plays the shaman drum.

The band has collaborated with a wide range of musicians, such as the US string quartet Kronos Quartet in 1997, and a DJ remix, Spirits From Tuva, in 2003. In 2004, the group was nominated for a BBC World Music Award, the most prestigious award for ethnic music.

Huun-Huur-Tu's China tour promoter and the organizer of the upcoming Stallion World Music Festival, Liu Zhao says the band's shows in China sold quickly because their music is popular with fans who are either passionate about world music or are attracted to exotic sounds. The band has given nearly 100 performances in more than 20 Chinese cities since 2014, Liu says.

Liu's company, Stellion Era Cultural Communication, represents a number of world music artists, both from China and abroad. For the first Stallion World Music Festival, Liu invited two other groups of musicians from Tuva: Yat-Kha, a band led by Albert Kuvezin, and folk singer Sainkho Namtchylak, both of whom have performed in China before and have an established fan base.

Besides live performances given by the three bands, documentaries and photo exhibitions about Tuvan culture will be showcased in both locations during the course of the music festival.

"We want to present world music from one unique culture each year during the Stallion World Music Festival," adds Liu.

Sainkho Namtchylak, 61, is well-known for her voice that spans seven octaves and her performance of khoomei - a style only performed by men when she began singing. Her music not only contains traditional influences but also elements of avant-jazz, electronic music and modern compositions. Namtchylak has collaborated with the Moscow State Orchestra, the Moscow-based jazz ensemble Tri-O and many other avant-garde musicians from Europe. She has been a resident of Vienna since 1997.

Her band, Sainkho Kosmos, are a group of educated instrumentalists and jazz musicians. The songs she will perform in the upcoming festival will include some old traditional Tuva songs and her songs from published albums as well as new unpublished songs.

All the songs are performed in Tuvan, Russian or English. She has also added songs written by Samm Bennett, the band's drummer who is also a singer-songwriter, into the program.

"His emotional and powerful way of singing is like a volcano of male energy," Namtchylak says.

"I like to give live improvisations during my shows, because studio recordings are an absolutely different way of creating music. In the studio you can stop each time and have many takes since there is no audience. In a live show there is only one chance and you have to keep the spirit of the music within a lively, floating atmosphere and give your best to the audience," she adds.

A founding member of Huun-Huur-Tu, Albert Kuvezin left to start his own band, Yat-Kha, in the early 1990s, with the goal of combining traditional Tuvan throat-singing with rock 'n' roll.

He says that he always pays attention to the sounds and effects used by rock musicians. He also got interested in traditional music and throat singing while trying to find an organic mixture of rock and traditional music.

Since visiting China in 1998 to perform at a music festival in Hong Kong, Kuvezin has performed in the country several times as a solo artist, as well as with Yat-Kha.

"Our musicians love to perform here. Personally, I like the Chinese instrument, the guzheng (Chinese zither) very much," says Kuvezin, who is a master of khoomei and plays the dopshuur as well as a number of other instruments such as the guitar, bass, piano, jaw harp and balalaika.

If you go

Sainkho Kosmos, Sept 14, concert hall of National Library of China, Beijing

Yat-Kha, Sept 16, Mao Livehouse, Beijing

Huun-Huur-Tu, Sept 27, concert hall of National Library, Beijing

Yat-Kha, Sept 14, MIFA 1862 Art Center, Shanghai

Sainkho Kosmos, Sept 15, MIFA 1862 Art Center, Shanghai

Huun-Huur-Tu, Sept16, MIFA 1862 Art Center, Shanghai