CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- More than 2000 performers in Tongliang, Chongqing, have experienced their busiest period in the previous three years prior to the Lantern Festival in 2023. A group of young people who were born after 2000 was encountered by the reporter. They were all born and raised in Tongliang, and they have all grown up knowing the dragon dance. They are now the foundation of this art and are responsible for preserving this national intangible cultural heritage.

Tongliang dragon dance can be traced back to Tang and Song Dynasties and have long been recognized as the first group of national intangible cultural heritage. It was presented at the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing in 2008 and the Gala for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 2019. Additionally, the group frequently performs abroad, fostering cross-cultural interactions.

All of the dancers smiled while performing. The bulk of the Tongliang Dragon Dance Team, according to head coach Zhou Keji, are already “post-00s-born.” For example, in the 222-person cast of the current production of “Chasing Dreams: Tongliang Dragon,” half of the cast members are “post-00s-born.”

Why does the Tongling dragon dance appeal to those young people so much? Zhou provided the response: more than 100 elementary and middle schools in Tongling have a dragon dance team, and many of them provide students with specialized dragon dance lessons. More than 60,000 people have already performed dragon dances. Students make up the majority of the stage performers in the photo.

Children in Tongliang learn to perform and observe dragon dances as they grow up. One of them is Leng Mingfeng, a 17-year-old who is pictured on the top row, third from the right. “In the second semester of my junior high school year, I formally began dragon dancing. I was recommended by the Tongliang Vocational Education Center and accepted as a full member of the Tongliang Competitive Dragon Dance Team after finishing junior high school.” In the previous two years, Leng has won gold medals in both national and international tournaments.

Tongliang Competitive Dragon Dance Team, a professional team competing in national and international tournaments, was founded in 2020. The oldest squad member is 24, and the youngest is 17. There are 16 people on the team. Leng is one of ten members of the post-2000 generation.

Zhou, who has more than 40 years of experience in this field, said it was typical for the team to be predominately composed of people born after 2000. This is due to how difficult it is to compete on the national and international dragon dance teams. Hundreds of new dance acts have been created since the 1980s, increasing the demands on dancers.

The national second-level athletes represent the lowest level, notwithstanding the youth of the participants. The squad has won more than 30 gold medals in national and international contests since its founding three years ago.

“I chose to be a member of this team not just because of my childhood experiences, but also because of my passion for dragon dance.” The sole female on the team is dance major Li Jing (first from the left). Her hands frequently blister and crunch cocoons. She has been dancing for about ten years and has amazing skills now.

With exquisite skills and bold performances, the team has performed on stage at the National Day event four times, and it has also traveled to more than 30 other nations and regions to engage in cultural exchanges, showcasing Tonglianglong’s unique culture to a global audience. (Translated by Huang Ziming, Fathom Language Limited)