Dragon dance team welcomed by citizens along way

On February 12, the Lantern Festival of the Year of the Snake, a special folk event attracted many citizens and tourists. One representative project of the eighth batch of autonomous-region-level intangible cultural heritage, Liuzhou's "Dragon King Parade", was staged in the urban area, with hundreds of people dressed in various costumes celebrating the joyful Lantern Festival.

At 1:00 PM that day, the parade team performed the dragon dance and set off from the section near Xilai Temple on Binjiang West Road amidst the rousing sound of gongs and drums. The team passed through Linjiang Alley, Zhongshanxi Road, Qingyun Vegetable Market, Shuguangxi Road, Wuxing Commercial Pedestrian Street, and Fengqing Port, and returned to Binjiang West Road via Xiaonan Road. Along the way, the performers in the parade team either enthusiastically interacted with the audience by saying "Happy Lantern Festival" or waved their bouquets, conveying the good wishes of all flowers bloom in a good spring to the crowd.

Responsible for the recruitment of volunteers for the parade team, Ling Chunfeng told the reporter that there were a total of 11 parade teams with different themes in this event, such as the little red riding hood lion team composed of children, the Miao Village Lusheng Team showcasing the ethnic minority customs of Liuzhou, and the Hanfu enthusiasts team dressing as the flower fairies. The teams included not only recruited volunteer actors but also community teams participated spontaneously.

The lively and happy celebration event attracted many citizens and tourists to watch along the way. Citizen Zou Bin watched the "Dragon King Parade" with his kindergarten-aged son that day. "The kid was very excited while watching it on my shoulders. I hope he can feel the lively atmosphere of the traditional festival and learn about Liuzhou's unique folk customs." On the same day, the "Liuzhou No. 1" WeChat Channel also live-streamed the event, and many netizens watched the scene in the live broadcast channel. Netizen "Ninth City" left a comment that: "The event is very Liuzhou, very ceremonial".

It is learned that Liuzhou's "Dragon King Parade" developed from the legend of the eight dragons appearing in the river and the culture of Liujiang River, and gradually integrated elements of Liuzhou's traditional food, culture, opera, etc., becoming an important folk event in Liuzhou during the Spring Festival to pray for good weather and peace in the new year and the country. In 2020, Liuzhou's "Dragon King Parade" was selected into the eighth directory of representative projects of autonomous-region-level intangible cultural heritage.