My children were given a soft toy a few years back from a relative who had bought it from a Chinese street market while on holiday in China. When it was switched on it jumped about frantically and sang a very loud and shrill song. Not 100% sure which language it was, but it is entirely possible it was some form of Chinese street music, and certainly fits the article's description of "Mainland Chinese recordings" as "shouty, harsh and ear-piercing". Normally my children love things that adults find annoying, but even they were afraid of this one.

"The idea is high-pitched sound brings attention and awareness effectively. "

I was in a restaurant in a small town outside of Shanghai years ago when an old lady came to regale us with her singing accompanied by a one-string stick sort of violin.

It was unbearable. Her high pitched voice was weak Waverly and shrill and that one string violin was piercing and offsetting.

I mentioned that I would be willing to pay to send the person away and one of my young Chinese dinner companions said "me too"

Chinese music is tuned to a different scale to western music, so it all sounds "weird" even if it's not objectively high frequency or loud.

Chinese folk music does often tend towards higher pitches than western folk music. Some of it is related to influence of the ranges of traditional instruments (e.g., the erhu and pipa), some of it is perceptual relating to the pentatonic scale, and a big part of it is cultural.