Video: Guizhou holds fire dragon dance show to celebrate Lantern Festival

Wulong Xuhua is a form of dragon dance performed amid fireworks by the Miao ethnic group to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Taijiang county, Southwest China's Guizhou province. It was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage item in 2021 and is considered one of the most exhilarating events in the province.

This year, the performance will take place from Feb 22 to 24.

The Wulong Xuhua tradition is centered around Taijiang, spreading across nine towns and townships within the county. In each village, the dragon dance typically begins on the seventh or ninth day of the first lunar month, using dragons made of rice straw, cloth or bamboo.

On the 15th day of the first lunar month, which is also the Lantern Festival, multiple dragon dance teams from different villages come together to perform Wulong Xuhua. This event marks the pinnacle of the dragon dance festivities.

After the Lantern Festival, each village selects a day to burn the dragons, usually on the 17th or 19th day of the first lunar month, signaling the conclusion of the dragon dance and firecracker blowing festivities.