By Xiao Wu, Video by Zhang Deng, Photo by Martin S. (Max), iChongqing
Chongqing - The night of the Chinese Lantern Festival witnessed a splendid performance of fire dragon dance in Chongqing, Southwest China, while more than one thousand audiences were stunned by the beautiful iron sparks sprayed to the sky.
Tongliang District in Chongqing is home to dragon dance in China. Since the Ming Dynasty (1368AC-1644AC), at important Chinese festivals, the region has always been illuminated by dragon dance parades and beautiful lantern lights. After near 700 hundreds of years of inheritance, Tongliang Dragon Dance has become a symbol of Chinese Dragon Culture. It is among the first patch of China’s national intangible cultural heritage. Tongliang Dragon Dance is widely put on stage in China towns abroad and gain applause from the audience all over the world.
Tongliang Fire Dragon Dance in Tongliang District of Chongqing, China. Photo by Martin S. (Max)
The Lantern Festival arrives on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, which ends the Chinese New Year celebrations that have lasted for 15 days. This year, the Lantern Festival fell on February 19th.
At the occasion, a huge number of visitors clustered in Tongliang, a county 54km in the west of Chongqing, for Tongliang Dragon Lights Art Festival, where they could appreciate the wonderful Tongliang Dragon Dance. When the day gets darker, the stage in Qicaiyuan Scenic Area was turned up.
6 China furnaces were placed around the stage. That’s where the magic was in preparation. A few dragon dance players in red scarf were burning iron in the furnace. The jumping flame in the cold air was the prelude of the coming extraordinary performance.
The man heated the iron into liquid. Photo by Martin S. (Max)
The beautiful lantern parade started the Tongliang Dragon Dance performance on the Chinese Lantern Festival. Then it came 3 Tongliang Dragons at the length of tens of meters.
Tongliang Dragon Dance at Tongliang Dragon lights Art Festival. Photo by Martin S. (Max).
2019 is the year of the pig in China. So the pig element was an indispensable part of the traditional performance. When 4 pig shaped lantern appeared in the parade, they aroused loud applause and cheers from the audience.
The classic show of two dragons playing with the pearl pushed the event to new extremes. Two 30-meter-long golden dragons were moving at a fast speed and in a super energetic way. And at last, the two dragons turned into a 60-meter-long giant dragon, which is a grand visual feast to the audience.
Two dragons played with the pearl at Tongliang Dragon lights Art Festival. Photo by Martin S. (Max).
Two dragons played with the pearl at Tongliang Dragon Lights Art Festival. Photo by Martin S. (Max).
The players lit up the torch in hand, which indicated that the grand finale – Fire Dragon Dance was going to perform. The iron in the furnace was melted into a liquid at the time, at a temperature of 1500 Celsius. One man scooped the iron water out and another one, with a wooden stick, hit the iron water into the air. The burning iron water blossomed in the sky and showered around. Among the golden iron rain and deafening cheers, the dragons danced gracefully. What a stunning scene to mark the 2019 Chinese Lantern Festival.
The man hit the iron water into the air. Photo by Martin S. (Max).
The Fire Dragon Dance at Tongliang Dragon Lights Art Festival. Photo by Martin S. (Max).
The dragon danced in the iron water, at Tongliang Dragon Lights Art Festival. Photo by Martin S. (Max).
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