On the 11th day of the lunar year, the annual dragon and lion dance fair was held in Dali, Nanhai. More than 200 lions gave fantastic performances in Yanbu Park(盐步公园)，attracting thousands of residents.

In the early morning, Yanbu Park was surrounded by crowds. After the “Dianjing”(means dotting the eyes of the lion) ceremony, dragon and lion dance teams from different districts in Foshan gave a “High pile”(高桩) and “Caiqing” (采青) show to the audiences, winning enthusiastic applause and cheers.

Maibian dragon dance team gave a performance called “A flying dragon celebrating the Chinese New Year”.

Two lions from Dali Zhonglian Huang Feihong dragon and lion dance committee performed at the high pole, which meant a promotion.

Lion dance given by the same committee was interesting and creative because it added the big head Buddha(大头佛) while the lion was dancing.

High pile(高桩) lion dance was given by Dali Zhonglian Huang Feihong dragon and lion dance committee.

Hengjiang dragon and lion dance team gave a performance called “Nian Nian You Yu”(年年有余)，which meant that people lived a wealthy and happy life.

Dragon and lion dance teams from Qiaotou and Jiangxin districts performed a High pile(高桩) lion dance called “Shuangxiong Duocai”(双雄躲彩).

The scene was a sea of people. Kids and adults came to watch the performance.

Citizens took photos to memorize this show.

At 10 o’clock, the climax came as the flags with “Pantang” and “Kengkou” appeared. Applause broke out from the audience.

Chen Peihua, a citizen from Shishan, let his 4 year-old son sitting on his shoulder to enjoy the performance. He said that this was the first time that he saw dragon and lion dance fair in Yanbu. He thought the content of this performance was rich. “I hope my son can understand the beauty of traditional culture after watching it,” he said.

The dragon and lion dance fair in Yanbu started in the Qing dynasty and has lasted for over one hundred years. As usual, dragon and lion dance teams from Pantang, Guangzhou and Yanbu, Dali will visit each other in every Spring Festival and Dragon Boat Festival.

At the same day, Guangzhou Pantang lion dance team sent greetings to Yanbu with 8 lions. Liang Yuanshen, a member of Guangzhou Pantang Lianyitang(联义堂), said in recent years, it was a useful way to inherit traditional dragon and lion dance culture by visiting and learning from each other.

Written by Yuki