(1) Northeast Plains Folk Song Branch
The area includes the lower reaches of the Yellow River in Shandong, Hebei, Northeast Henan, North Jiangsu, and the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang, which is basically a coastal plain. Since ancient times the lower reaches of the Yellow River have belonged to a culturally more developed area than the school. According to minor differences in style, the district can be further divided into two neighborhoods, Shandong, Hebei and part of Hebei and northern Suzhou as the first neighborhood; Liao, Jilin and Hei as the second neighborhood. The second neighborhood is actually the immigrant area of the first neighborhood. So the folk songs are of the same approximate style. The entire region uses the eastern northern dialect. The folk songs here are mainly ditties, followed by rice-planting songs and trumpets, and very few mountain songs. The representative folk songs are "Little Cabbage", "Painting the Fan Face", "Yimeng Mountain Ditty", "Little Watching Theater" and so on.
(2) Northwestern Plateau Folk Song Branch Area
The area includes Shanxi, most of Shaanxi, northwestern Henan, the Inner Mongolia Loop, as well as Gan, Qing, and Ning Han-dominated areas. The east is separated from the northeastern folk song area by the Taihang Mountains, and the north and south are each south of the Yinshan Mountains and north of the Qinling Mountains, which belong to the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River. In the past, the transportation is not convenient, folk music is less with the foreign exchanges, the use of the Northwest are northern dialect. Folk songs are most prominent in mountain songs. They include "Albatross", "Mountain Song", "Mountain Climbing Song" and "Flower Children". The second is rice-planting songs and ditties. The nationally known songs include "Going to the West", "Catching Livestock", "Orchid Blossom", "Pushing Fried Noodles", "Brother Wu Raising Sheep", "Plowing Taro", "Embroidered Gold Plaque", and so on.
(3) Jianghuai Folk Song Branch Area
The area includes the north of Suzhou in the Huaihe River Basin, most of Anhui Province, and the southeast of Henan Province, and is bounded on the west by the Dabie Mountains and the Jianghan Folk Song Area. The area is in between the Yellow River and Yangtze River Basin, and the music culture is characterized by a transition between the south and the north. The northern dialect is used. Folk songs are prominent in field songs and ditties, followed by rice-planting songs and mountain songs. Famous songs include "Fengyang Flower Drums", "Wang Sanjia Catching up with the Market", "Playing the Wheat Song" and "Pi Gen Lu Zhai Hua".
(4) Jiangsu and Zhejiang Plain Folk Song Branch
The area includes Jiangsu Nandu, Shanghai, and most of Zhejiang, located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, is the ancient land of Wu and Yue. Culture is more developed, the people are more affluent, traditionally known as the fishing and rice township in the south of the Yangtze River. The dialect spoken is Wu. Folk songs are mainly in small tunes, and famous tunes include "Purple Bamboo Tune", "Wuxi Scene", "Jasmine Flower", "Crying Chichi", "Pair of Birds", and so on.
(5) Min and Taiwan Folk Song Branch
The area includes most of Fujian, most of Taiwan and the Chaoshan area of Guangdong. Fujian and Taiwan have had a cultural relationship since ancient times, and the local Han Chinese in Taiwan have been using the Minnan language; in addition, there are some ****same local operas and rap music in the two places. Folk songs are highlighted by mountain songs, ploughing field poems, and ditties, and famous tunes include "Picking Tea and Puffing Butterflies", "Tea Boys' Songs", and "Tien Woo Woo".
(6) Cantonese folk song branch
The area includes the Pearl River Basin of Guangdong Metropolis, Guang You southeast, as well as part of Hainan, north of the South Ridge as a boundary with the Gan Folk Song District neighboring. Here is located in the subtropics, the Pearl River crosses the east and west, culture and overseas exchanges earlier, using Cantonese dialect. In the past, the vast number of fishermen became an important social class in the district. Folk songs are most prominent in fishing songs - salty water songs. Famous tunes include "Falling Water Sky", "Spring Cow Tune" and "Li Li Mei".
(7) Jianghan Plain Folk Song Sub-region
This region includes Hubei, southwestern Henan, and parts of northern Hunan, the center of ancient Chu culture. The southwestern dialect is used. The ancient culture is relatively developed and the folk art has a long history, and still retains its ancient local characteristics in many aspects. Folk songs are most prominent in field songs, followed by lamp songs, ditties, custom songs and mountain songs. Famous tunes include "Huang Si Sister" and "Honghu Fishing Song".
(8) Xiang Folk Song Branch
The area includes Hunan and several counties on the northeast corner of Guangxi. Located on the south bank of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, it is also the ancient land of Chu. The people still Chu style, the land attack Chu custom, it and the Jianghan folk song area has a thousand inextricable links, but the use of the dialect is different, the district general Xiang dialect. The most representative folk songs are mountain songs and field songs. Famous repertoire includes "Masang Village Children Playing Lampstand", "A Pond of Lotus Flowers and Lotus Ponds", and "Going up to Sichuan".
(9) Gan Folk Song Branch
This area is based on the middle, north and east of Jiangxi Province, and uses the Gan dialect. Located between the ancient Wu and Chu, Wu and Chu culture have had a certain impact on it, with the nature of the transition zone of the Yangtze River Basin East-West cultural exchanges, the folk songs of a strong blend. Tea songs are the most characteristic, followed by ditties and lamp songs. Field songs in the "drumming song" is also very prominent. Famous songs include "Azalea Blossom", "Picking Tea Seeds" and "Send a Man to the Red Army".
(10) Southwest Plateau Folk Song Branch
The area includes Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, southern Shaanxi and part of northwest Guangxi. It is bounded by the Qinling Mountains in the north and generalizes the Southwest dialect. The representative folk songs are mountain songs, followed by lamp songs. In addition the Sichuan River Boatman's Horn is also very distinctive. Famous tunes include "The Little River Flows", "Catching Horses", "When Will the Sophora Blossoms Bloom", "I Live in Guiyangfu, Guizhou" and so on.
(11) Hakka Folk Song Special Zone
The Hakka people are widely distributed, with more than 80 million people in the country, and the Min-Ou Special Zone mainly refers to the border zone of the three provinces including northeastern Guangdong, southwestern Fujian, and southeastern Jiangxi. Here the Hakka people are more concentrated, the Hakka is an ancient war by the northern central plains of the immigrants, retained the ancient heritage, the use of Hakka dialect. Folk songs are mainly mountain songs, famous songs are "lamp red song", "wind blowing bamboo leaves" and so on.