An American girl born in China helps promote traditional ethnic minority culture during her execution of one-week rotating duty as a "mayor" in a tourist town in Southwest China's Guizhou province.

Accompanied by a melodious song played on the lusheng, a traditional Chinese wind instrument, American JongMay dances gracefully with other members of the Miao people, a national minority in China.

The dance, called Jinji Dance, is a Chinese traditional folk dance originating from Danzhai county in Guizhou, an autonomous region where the ethnic Miao and Dong people live.

After the performance, the audience clapped heartily and members asked, one after another, "Mayor, can I take a photo with you?"

JongMay, who can speaks fluent Mandarin, replied in Chinese, "Certainly!"

JongMay, 23, was appointed the 16th "mayor" of Wanda town in Danzhai county after winning a worldwide campaign to recruit on-duty "mayors" for the small town.

Starting from June, each "mayor" should serve for a one-week term to spread local culture and support the town's development.

"Being a 'mayor' is good to enrich my life experience, so I ran for the office," JongMay said.

During her one-week tenure, JongMay was busy discovering the local culture. She performed folk dances, experienced batik and papermaking processes, and broadcast bullfighting and tea art presentations via Weibo and short videos.

JongMay feels closer to China. She said, "Many people would affectionately say hello to me, and call me 'mayor' in the street."

"I was born in China, so my parents gave me the name JongMay, which literally means China and America in Chinese," she told a reporter from the China News website.

JongMay returned to the United States in her childhood but kept on learning Chinese before coming back to China to study Chinese folk dance and choreography in her high school year. She now studies at the Communication University of China as a graduate student.

"I used to learn Chinese dance. Now I want to understand the culture behind it," she said.

JongMay said she dreams of becoming a Chinese teacher in an American college to help American students learn Chinese culture.

JongMay enjoys Danzhai's delicacy with her friends. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]