Tongliang Dragon Dance Debuts on New Year's Eve in Times Square

NEW YORK, Jan. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Tongliang Dragon Dance from Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, which represents one of China's national intangible cultural heritages, made its debut in Times Square during the New Year's Eve celebration on Sunday.

A colorful 15-meter long Tongliang Dragon jumped, rolled and hovered under control of eight performers. Accompanied by Chongqing traditional folk songs, the dragon rods were like paddles that quickly swiped with the increasingly strong rhythm.

With an average age of 30, eight performers of the Tongliang Dragon Dance spent one month and a half in making preparations for the New Year's celebration. "It is a great honor to participate in such an activity. We can further enhance the world's understanding of the excellent Chinese traditional culture through our efforts," said Zhang Shunsheng, the team leader, who is also an inheritor of the Tongliang Dragon Dance.

To present a perfect Tongliang Dragon Dance in front of the world, the team had not only made innovations to the dancing techniques but also improved the dragon making, which itself is part of the intangible cultural heritage. The dragon performed on the New Year's Eve was made by the intangible cultural heritage bearer Zhou Jian.

Qin Qijiang, Deputy Director of the Tongliang District Culture Commission, as well as coach and team member of the Dance, introduced that in order to highlight the festive atmosphere of the New Year, the body of the dragon is equipped with a LED gravitational induction light source, which enables the dragon to give out dazzling light with the change of the performers' dynamics and speed.

"We expect to offer a terrific Chinese cultural banquet from China's beautiful Chongqing city for New Yorkers and audiences and let more people get to know about Tongliang Dragon Dance and to better understand the Chinese culture," said Yuan Hongmei, Director of Tongliang Tourism Administration.

The performance is organized by Sino-American Friendship Association and China Economic Information Service. Tongliang Dragon Dance, a form of traditional folk dance hailing from the Tongliang District of Chongqing, boasts a history of 600-700 years. As one of the cultural icons of Chongqing, it has attended cultural exchange activities in more than 30 countries and regions.