Intangible cultural heritage shows staged in Chongqing to celebrate Dragon Boat Festival

By Liu Xinyu and Ma Jiaxin

(ECNS) – Tongliang District of Chongqing celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival with a large-scale show and dragon boat races.

On Thursday evening, the intangible cultural heritage landscape show Chasing Dreams: Tongliang Dragon was staged in Tongliang District.

Set against the natural backdrop of Bayue Mountain and Xuantian Lake, the performance integrated two national-level intangible cultural heritage items – the Tongliang dragon dance and the Tongliang dragon lantern crafting technique – enhanced by modern sound, light and electronic technologies.

The Tongliang dragon dance dates back to the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties. It has been performed in more than 30 countries and regions, making it a globally recognized icon of Chinese folk culture. 

The show features a variety of dragon dances including lotus dragon, luminous dragon and fire dragon, presenting a spectacular audio-visual feast for the audience.

On Friday, a dragon boat race themed "Dragon City Anju, Boats Through the Millennia" was held in Anju Ancient City in Tongliang District. The event featured dragon boat races, water dragon performances and other folk activities.

One of the most distinctive highlights was the "dragon boat rush" – decorated boats on the shore invited dragon boats by setting off firecrackers and throwing ducks and embroidered balls into the river.

Competing dragon boats raced toward the targets as team members jumped into the water to grab them, creating a lively and exciting scene that drew large crowds of visitors.