In the eighth episode of Voice Beyond Horizon, the participants, having relaxed after their first performance on the Almaty stage, set off on a new journey to collect folklore in the “City of Apples” at the foothills of the Tien Shan. Randomly assigned into teams, they followed different маршруты in search of inspiration.

La Danzhu and Princ: Arbat Street in Almaty

Before heading to Arbat, the contestant from China chose to visit the monument to the great Chinese composer Xian Xinghai, whose music embodies the unyielding spirit of the Chinese nation. After laying flowers, La Danzhu performed a fragment of the Yellow River Cantata for Prince, explaining the historical context behind the piece.

Prince asked why a monument to a Chinese composer stands in Almaty. La Danzhu shared that during difficult times, when fate brought Xian Xinghai to Kazakhstan, he received support and formed a deep friendship with Kazakh composer Bakhytzhan Baikadamov.

The two musicians supported each other through hardship, using music as a bridge and their hearts as a bond, creating numerous works together. In Almaty, two streets named after the composers run side by side, commemorating this remarkable friendship between their nations.

Arbat Street itself feels like a melody flowing through colorful pathways, bringing together contemporary street artists. Even the wind here seems filled with beautiful chords. Musicians find friends through music, and in this harmony new ideas are born, while gentle friendships stretch across mountains and seas.

Here, the participants met a group of students from Xinjiang. One young man played six instruments in turn: the dombra, suona, sybyzgy, kobyz, saz syrnai, and guitar. Together, they performed songs, warmly supported by visitors along Arbat.

An elderly man, at the travelers’ request, played Jasmine Flower on the accordion—once again proving that music is a universal language without limits.

Giulia Falcone, Nur Cholpon, and Zhang Xinyu: Apple Festival

The Apple Festival is all about dancing shoulder to shoulder with strangers, the vibrant bustle of celebration – a living, authentic source of inspiration that captures the city’s most sincere emotions.

As one of the birthplaces of apples, Almaty celebrates its city holiday every year on the third Sunday of September with a grand Apple Festival, attracting visitors from around the world who come to join this harvest celebration.

At the festival, the participants discovered a small Chinese pavilion organized by the Consulate General of China in Almaty, an especially touching window into Chinese culture. Visitors explored Chinese calligraphy, chess, and the guzheng, experiencing the beauty of Chinese traditions.

Nurzhas Sadyrbayev, Cai Chengyu, and Jeryl Lee: Lake Kaindy

A submerged forest frozen in time, life quietly thriving beneath the still surface, and warmth rising from a campfire Lake Kaindy is a place that naturally inspires deeply moving creations.

Often described as the “blue eye of the Tien Shan,” Lake Kaindy is known for its straight spruce trees emerging from its deep blue waters, standing for centuries as if time itself has paused. Standing by the lake, one hears nothing but the rhythm of their own heartbeat merging with the silence.

After returning from the lake, the participants were welcomed into a nomadic home, where the steppe becomes the table and happiness is found in the flicker of firelight and the aroma of milk tea. The hosts treated their guests to traditional dishes – taba-nan, baursaks, kuurdak, and kumis, each served with a story and heartfelt hospitality.