BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) – The second Chongqing Tongliang Chinese Dragon Latern Art Festival kicked off on January 2, 2020 in southwest China's Chongqing, with a dragon dance performance to welcome the upcoming spring festival.
Photo taken on Jan. 2, 2020 shows dragon dance performance at the opening ceremony of the second Chongqing Tongliang Chinese Dragon Lantern Art Festival.
At the ceremony, hundreds of young people were dancing with over ten kinds of dragon props, such as vermiform dragon, lotus dragon, competitive dragon and fire dragon, creating a lively festival vibe.
During the festival, seven thematic Chinese dragon lantern art shows are held respectively in the People's Park, Xuantian Lake, Wangshan Park, Jianshui Park, Longcheng Street, Street Node, Qicai Mengyuan and Anju Ancient Town, with a total of 123 large lantern groups on display.
Photo taken on Jan. 2, 2020 shows the lantern show during the second Chongqing Tongliang Chinese Dragon Lantern Art Festival.
Photo taken on Jan. 2, 2020 shows the fire dragon dance performance during the second Chongqing Tongliang Chinese Dragon Lantern Art Festival.
Tongliang dragon dance is one of the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects in China and it has been performed in many major Chinese celebrations, such as the National Day, the Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo, said relevant official of the Cultural Tourism Committee of Tongliang District.
"Tongliang has been expanding its dragon culture industry with Tongliang dragon dance and pushing dragon culture to take root in cities and villages," said Tang Xiaoping, secretary of CPC Tongliang District Committee.
According to the official, Tongling has formed an industrial chain with an annual output value of more than 1 billion yuan, and fostered a group of villages engaged in making dragon lanterns, driving impoverished people to take part in dragon lantern production during their leisure time.
During the Art Festival, which will last from January 2 to Feb. 8, fire dragon dance performance will be staged on every weekend from January 2 to 25, and every day from January 25 to February 8. (Contributed by Ma Bing, edited by Jiang Feifan)
A single purchase
