On March 5, during the fifth episode of Voice Beyond Horizon broadcast on Hunan TV and Mango TV, the project’s executive producer, Dimash Qudaibergen, announced a new challenge for the contestants – a special duet concert.

According to the organizers, the participants were meant to draw inspiration for their musical harmony from the azure waters of the Caspian Sea and the vastness of the desert, which meet in Aktau. To help spark that inspiration, music expert Li Yugang invited the young musicians to choose between the mountains and the sea.

The eight contestants split into two teams. One focused on the urban atmosphere, tracing a route from the energy of the international port to the sunset along the waterfront in the program “A Tale of Lights in the Caspian Sea.” The other team joined the harmony of the multicolored cliffs in the excursion “Dialogue of the Canyon and the Wind.”

The first group began their exploration of the city at the Mangystau Regional Museum of History and Local Lore. Like an old friend keeping many secrets, the museum revealed the story of the city’s transformation over time.

Participant from Kazakhstan, Nurzhas Sadyrbayev, shared with friends from other countries the secrets of the traditional Kazakh dwelling – the yurt. He spoke about the history of the shanyrak, explained the symbolism of the shashak bau cords, and shared other everyday wisdom rooted in Kazakh culture.

In the museum’s archaeological exhibition, the visitors discovered many historical intersections between Kazakh and Chinese cultures. Fragments of Chinese porcelain found along the shores of the Caspian Sea silently told stories of the ancient Silk Road.

Continuing their creative journey, the first team then headed to the Aktau seaport, where they learned about transport projects connecting China, Kazakhstan, and European countries, initiatives that have turned the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route into a true golden corridor.

The day concluded with the team watching the sunset on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, as the sun slowly sank into the endless expanse of water, leaving them immersed in moments of remarkable romance.

The second group of participants began their search for inspiration at Mount Bokty, also known as the “Camel’s Hump.” This natural landmark, depicted on the 1,000-tenge banknote, preserves within its layers a record of geological changes spanning billions of years, where each stratum tells its own story through unique colors and textures. The mountain’s layers reveal ancient sea levels and, together with fossils found in the desert, testify that two hundred million years ago this area was once covered by the sea.

The show’s participants then traveled to the Kyzylkup tract, which tourists have nicknamed the “Mangystau Tiramisu.” Here, red bands of iron and white layers of fine limestone resemble the Earth’s annual rings, giving travelers the surreal sensation of stepping onto another planet.

The guests from three countries were particularly struck by the magic of the Bozzhyra tract. One distinctive rock formation there resembles an ancient giant ship run aground on the bed of a long-dried sea, enveloping the landscape in a mysterious and powerful primordial energy. The participants shared that this is a place where one can simply breathe, quietly listen to the wind, and realize how insignificant everyday worries truly are.

Returning from their journeys, the friends, filled with the deep resonance between nature and music, began working on their new performances, transforming the warm memories of their shared experiences into the collective rhythm of their songs.

In the second half of the episode, the young vocalists, under the guidance of producer Dimash Qudaibergen, experimented with musical fusion: folk songs combined with bel canto, rhythm and blues with the Guofeng style, and traditional melodies from different countries blended together. They sang, debated, negotiated, and refined every note and every movement.

In the next episode, the contestants will perform on a coastal stage by the Caspian Sea, showing how their shared search for inspiration helped them achieve harmony in their duets. Producer Dimash Qudaibergen will also give a masterclass, performing his original song accompanied by Mansur Qudaibergen.