With the theme of “Lighting up China Light” , the Lantern Festival for the Dragon Year & the Ceremony for the 38th China·Qinhuai Lantern Festival kicked off in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province. At the opening ceremony, Haiyan’s rolling lantern program “Dragon Dance for the Dragon Year” made a wonderful appearance, vividly demonstrating the unique charm of the rolling lantern of Haiyan, an intangible cultural heritage project.

On the stage decorated with lights, the rolling lantern performers used the rolling lanterns as the dragon body to link the dragon head and tail. They vigorously rolled the lanterns, jumping like a tiger, rolling like a spinning top, sometimes shaking hands, sometimes shaking waist, and sometimes stepping forward and rolling over to the gongs and drums, fully and vividly demonstrating the movements of the rolling lanterns and dancing dragons. “In recent years, Rolling Lanterns of Haiyan, a project of the first extended list of the national intangible cultural heritage, has constantly made innovation and become more artistically charming and favorite with the people with cultural workers and folk artists’ joint efforts.

Based on the innovation of traditional rolling lanterns, the program “Dragon Dance for the Dragon Year” has inherited and further developed Haiyan’s rolling lantern culture, and cleverly combined the elements of the Rolling Lanterns of Haiyan and dragon dance. Its flexible performing forms, expressive rhythms, rough styles and shocking momentum made the performance more attractive, which fully reflected people’s determination, bravery and good expectations of the Chinese New Year.