On the night of January 14, Tongliang Chinese Dragon Dance & Lantern Art Festival started at Tongliang Qicai Dream Garden. Every year, as a part of traditional Chinese culture, the dragon dance is used to pray for peace and good luck for the new year. Tongliang Dragon Dance appeared in the Ming Dynasty and became extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty.
Among all the dragon dances in Tongliang, Fire Dragon Dance is the best-known.
According to local beliefs, the Tongliang Fire Dragon Dance has the power of driving away disasters, and offering wishes for the local community.
The iron is heated to 1,600℃ in eight ovens which are placed in a circle. Sixteen shirtless men spray( 喷洒) the liquid( 液体) iron into the air, creating flower-like flames( 火焰). Fireworks hidden in the bodies of two gold dragons are lighted. Then you can see fireworks fly from the bodies of two golden dragons held by 20 shirtless men as the dragons fly up and down and back and forth through seas of fire. Along with the iron fireworks and music, the two fire dragons dance around to offer New Year wishes.
The Fire Dragon Dance in Tongliang was listed in the national intangible cultural heritages in 2006 and one of the city's cultural symbols. It is known as China's No.1 Dragon Dance.
Tongliang Fire Dragon Dance has shone both at home and abroad. It has taken part in major national events such as 1984, 1999 and 2009 National Day celebrations, as well as the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Moreover, Tongliang Fire Dragon Dance has visited Britain, France, and Japan, South Korea and more than 20 countries to spread Chinese culture.
Nowadays, both dragon-making and dragon dances have changed in recent years. They have created income for local people. There are 35 dance teams, 10 dragon-making teams and tourism, which make about 1 billion yuan ($154.6 million) a year.
And this ancient tradition, Tongliang Fire Dragon Dance, seems set to continue to fly into the future!
