Yuqing Dragon Lantern is a popular folk activity among people of all ethnic groups in Yuqing County. It is mainly spread in various towns and villages in the county, and is most concentrated in Baini Town, where the county seat is located. Baini Town is located at the easternmost end of Yuqing County, adjacent to Huangping, Shibing and Tongren Shigang in Qiandongnan. The terrain slopes from northwest to southeast. The town center is low and surrounded by high mountains. It is located in Baini Wanmu Dam and belongs to the subtropical humid monsoon climate zone. Baini Town is the seat of Yuqing County and the political, economic and cultural center of the county. According to relevant records, Yuqing Dragon Lantern began in the Tang Dynasty. There are records that "the eleventh to sixteenth day of the first lunar month is called the Lantern Festival" and "each village or raises money for dragon lanterns." During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, playing with lanterns reached its peak, with records of "welcoming spring in the eastern suburbs, playing puppets, singing and dancing on the Lantern Festival, and playing with fish and dragons." There were three unprecedented grand events in Yuqing playing with lanterns. The first was the Spring Festival in 1946, celebrating the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. 43 colorful dragons gathered on Songyan Street and played all night for three days and three nights. The second was in 1978, when 23 colorful dragons gathered on the lawn of Baini Town to play, with tens of thousands of spectators. The third was the Spring Festival in 1986, when the county cultural department organized and guided the Baini Chengguan Lantern Festival to hold a folk art festival, with a total of 32 teams, more than 1,500 performances, and 100,000 spectators. Although the scale has declined since then, the season, skills, and craftsmanship of playing lanterns have been passed down to this day. Baini dragon lanterns are divided into cloth dragons and grass dragons. Cloth dragons are made of bamboo strips, paper, cloth, etc., and are generally not divided into sections. They are about 30 meters long. They are divided into sections only under special circumstances, with one section for each household, and up to 100 sections. Lights are lit inside the dragon, and it is played by adults. Grass dragons are made of bamboo strips, straw, etc., about 4 to 5 meters long, with burning incense inserted all over the dragon body, and are played by children at night. Tie-up: The cloth dragon is made of bamboo strips into the frame of the dragon head, dragon body and dragon tail. The dragon head is covered with leather paper and then painted with pigments, making it lifelike; the dragon body is connected to the dragon head, covered with gauze or fine cloth, painted red or painted with dragon scales. The dragon lanterns are accompanied by brand lanterns (square in the south of Wujiang River and palace-shaped in the north of Wujiang River, with the name of the lantern festival and couplets written on them), fish lanterns, shrimp lanterns, lion lanterns and dragon beads, all tied with bamboo strips into their own shapes and covered with red paint. The method of tying a straw dragon is basically the same as that of a cloth dragon, except that the straw dragon is shorter, and its dragon body is not made into a frame, but is made of bamboo strips into a rope, and then wrapped with straw. In addition to major festivals, the time for playing with dragons is generally from the seventh day of the first lunar month to the nineteenth day of the first lunar month. To play with dragons, a good day must be chosen, and a "lighting and opening" ceremony must be held, and the dragon must go down the river to "ask for water", which means a good harvest. Then the dragon is played until the 13th day, and then played in various villages and villages, and traveled through villages and towns, and was greeted by artillery fire wherever it went. On the 14th day of the first lunar month, they gathered in the county town to make a big fuss about the Lantern Festival. After the 15th day of the first lunar month and before the 19th day of the first lunar month, the dragon playing ends with "clearing the village", and the dragon is burned with fire at the river dam of Niuchang in the county town, which is called "transforming into a dragon". Playing with the dragon is the climax of playing with dragon lanterns. When playing with the dragon, the lanterns lead the way, accompanied by music and drums, and fish, shrimp and lion lanterns follow; oil lamps or wax candles are inserted into the dragon's body, and the dragon's body is red and translucent; one person holds the "precious pearl" and rolls up and down, left and right in front, and another person holds the dragon head to chase and snatch the "precious pearl". There are also more than ten people holding the dragon head, rolling and jumping, moving and circling, and there are dragon dance forms such as stepping on benches and jumping over the eight-immortal table. When playing with dragons, some people shouted: "Oh, fire, bring flowers", and some people shouted auspicious words, such as: one person led: "The dragon lantern is bright!" Everyone: "Good!" Lead: "Play that side and play that side!" Everyone: "Good!" Lead: "After playing with this group of dragon lanterns, feed!" Everyone: "Good!" Lead: "Every family has silver in the warehouse!" Everyone: "Great!", the atmosphere was very warm. The dragons on both sides and the dragon watchers sprayed the dragon dance with homemade fireworks. The colorful dragons danced, Oh, golden flowers were four shallows, and the gongs and drums were loud, which was quite spectacular. Yuqing Dragon Lantern is a dragon-playing collective with villages and villages. Every year, 610 villages and villages in the county organize to participate. Sometimes, the towns have organized dragon lanterns to perform in the county. Each village and village has a dedicated person responsible for organizing the dragon's making and training, and the funds are raised by the village and village themselves. If major events and competitions are organized, they are organized by government departments and jointly funded by the government and society. The main representative inheritors are: Zeng Youfu, Lu Dahu, Wu Peiguo, Peng Zhencai, Lu Qizhen, Wang Wenxue, Yang Zaiyi, Yang Zaiguang, Luo Hongyou, Li Chunhui, Chen Mingqiang, Li Chunlei, Ou Tao, He Yang, Zeng Longchao, etc. The making and playing of Yuqing dragon lanterns are quite special. There are not only common cloth dragons, but also rare grass dragons. In the dragon playing, there are not only rolling and jumping, circling and tumbling movements, but also dragon dance forms such as stepping on benches and jumping over the eight-immortal table. Yuqing dragon lanterns are widely participated in, the dragon is made with fine workmanship, and the people who play and watch the lanterns are full of enthusiasm. Men, women, old and young are all happy. By playing dragon lanterns, people are attracted to watch dragon lanterns. At the peak of playing lanterns, the number of mobile personnel reaches tens of thousands. It not only plays a great role in promoting the circulation of commodities in the county, but also inspires the enthusiasm of the masses to love the country, love the family, and love work, promotes exchanges between people, and builds harmonious interpersonal relationships. The season, skills, and craftsmanship of Yuqing lantern playing activities have been passed down to this day. However, due to the recent wave of migrant workers, although the lantern show is still held every year, the number of participants has decreased year by year, and the scale has also decreased. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)