About Ning Ao

I am a doctoral student at the Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies (ACE) at Lund University. My PhD project looks at generational differences among Chinese Mongols and their ways of expressing and forming their ethnic identity in everyday life. I am also interested in Chinese ethnicity, nationalism, and borderlands more broadly.
Doctoral student in East and South-East Asian Studies
Ning's website

NBN Episodes hosted by Ning:

Strings of Identity: The Horse-Head Fiddle and Mongolian Identity in China (with Ying Song)

November 5, 2025

Strings of Identity: The Horse-Head Fiddle and Mongolian Identity in China

Ying Song
Hosted by Ning Ao

In this episode, we trace how the horse-head fiddle has evolved in the People’s Republic of China — from a traditional steppe instrument to a cultural…