China is home to the Dragon Dance and Lion Dance. The two performances have been welcomed by people from various ethnic groups for generations. These activities thrive and have formed a glorious dragon and lion dancing culture. Many young people know that the dragon dance and lion dance are performed during festivals such as Spring Festival, Spring Festival fairs and celebrations. But they don't know that after several thousand years the two activities have accumulated thick historical cultures and are extremely valuable cultural heritages handed down from Chinese people's ancestors.

The Dragon Dance

The dragon is made of straw, bamboo shoots and cloth. Each dragon is different in size. There are nine-section dragons, 11-section dragons, 13-section dragons and even 29-section dragons. Dragons longer than 15 sections are heavy and difficult to dance with. These longer dancing dragons are more for decoration than performances.

There are also fire dragons. To make a fire dragon, cylinder-shaped cages are made with bamboo strips. Transparent and beautiful dragon cloth is pasted on the surface. Inside the cages are candles or lamps. The fire dragons illuminate the night skies, providing viewers and passersby with a stunning display.

The movements in the Dragon Dance vary greatly. Movement skills are very important for dancing as a dragon with nine sections or less. The following movements are very common: a roaming dragon, a dragon moving through arches, simultaneous movement of the head and tail, a dragon wagging its tail, and snake sloughing. Performances are stressed for dragons of 11 and 13 sections, such as Golden Dragon Chasing Treasure Pearl. The dragon sometimes flies and jumps into the air; sometimes it dives into the sea. With the dragon pearls and drum tempos, the Dragon Dance is an artistic form combining martial arts, drum music and dragon arts.

The Lion Dance

Mighty and splendid, the Lion Dance features rigid movement and various expressions. There are many different versions of the Lion Dance. Some use fables and some are related to history, adding a mysterious element to the Lion Dance. People believe that lions are auspicious animals and that the accompanying dance can bring good luck. So, during Spring Festival and other celebrations, the Lion Dance is often performed to beating drums, gongs and firecrackers to pray for good luck.

The Lion Dance can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms period and became popular in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It has a history of more than 1,000 years.