The Putai Fire Dragon is a unique traditional program for villagers in Putai Town, Fengshun County, Guangdong Province to celebrate the Lantern Festival. It has a long history. According to the "Fengshun County Chronicles", as early as the sixth year of Qianlong (1741), Putai Town had the custom of fire dragon performances. Every Lantern Festival, the villagers of Putai Town hold fire dragon performances, which consist of burning fire trees (burning smoke racks), burning Yumen (carp jumping over the dragon gate), and burning fire dragons, praying for good weather, good harvests every year, peace every year, and peace and auspiciousness. When the fire dragon dances, sparks fly everywhere, and the scene is spectacular, attracting tens of thousands of people from the surrounding areas to watch. This grand occasion is almost the same every year and has been passed down from generation to generation. The "Puzhai Fire Dragon" is made of iron wire, bamboo, paper, etc., painted with scales, horns, and claws. The dragon head and tail are tens of meters long. There are thousands of fireworks, firecrackers, and rockets installed on the dragon body, and the gunpowder installed on the dragon head and tail is countless. A fire dragon is held by thirty or forty shirtless young men, with drummers, lobsters, goldfish and others, and the whole team has more than 200 people. According to myths and legends, in ancient times, the 21st grandson of the Dragon King of the East China Sea was called Zhuolong, who was sent by his father to govern Chiling (referring to the area of Putai today) in the Lotus Mountain Range of Nanyue. After Zhuolong took office, he acted recklessly and bullied the people, making the area a mess. The people could no longer bear it and had to complain to the old Dragon King, so the Dragon King ordered his youngest daughter Qingfeng to wear a dragon sword and rush to Nanyue. One day, Qingfeng took advantage of Zhuolong's drunkenness and killed him, cut him into four parts: dragon head, dragon neck, dragon body and dragon tail, and then brought back the cut dragon head to report to her father. The remaining three parts were left behind, becoming the "Dragon Body" of Putai today, the "Dragon Tail" of Jieyang, and the "Dragon Neck" of Jiexi (at the junction with Putai). Therefore, the ancestors of the Puzhai people skillfully evolved this ancient Han folk story into the custom of "burning fire dragons", which was passed down from generation to generation as a literary and artistic activity for the Lantern Festival. Production method The production method of the "fire dragon" was to use bamboo strips to make the body of the dragon, then mount it on white paper and paint it to form a simple dragon image, and then use gunpowder made of sulfur, white saltpeter and charcoal to make "earth rockets", and there are also different styles of fireworks such as spitting beads, turning flowers, and big plows, which are installed on the whole body of the dragon. After hundreds of years of continuous research and improvement by artists, the length of the "burning fire dragon" has grown from more than ten feet to more than 30 meters now; the smoke rack has also grown from five or seven racks to as many as 13 racks, up to 15 meters high. In particular, the "Yu Gate", which has been lost for more than 60 years, has been rediscovered and artistically processed, making new contributions to the development of folk art. The smoke rack (about 40-50 meters high) is erected in an appropriate place in the square. The smoke racks are set off from bottom to top in sequence. The fuse is hit with the "rat swimming on the beam". Amid the sound of firecrackers, a "centipede" flies down from the first rack. A warrior immediately grabs its head and dances it up and down, left and right. The centipede flies continuously while spitting out pearls and emitting bright colors. A small dragon (also known as a soft dragon) with flames from its mouth flies down from the second rack. A warrior immediately grabs its dragon head and dances it up and down, left and right. The small dragon emits brilliant sparks while dancing gently and continuously. A large carp with golden pearls from its mouth is set on the third rack, followed by a group of small carps. The fourth rack is a "chrysanthemum pot" with colorful sparks rotating like a pot of blooming chrysanthemums. The fifth rack is a "ship", which rides the wind and waves in the golden sparks. The sixth rack is a "couplet", the seventh rack is a "bead lamp", the eighth rack is a "flower basket string", the ninth rack is an "arrow burden", the tenth rack is a "large arrow barrel", and the eleventh rack is a "large bead plate". Especially when the last "big arrow barrel" rotates, thousands of arrows are fired at the same time, the sky is full of colors, and the sky and the earth are integrated. This is "the golden light of the fire welcomes the new year, and the auspicious snow all over the sky indicates a good harvest." The burning of Yumen is based on the historical story of Dayu's flood control. This program is for people to commemorate his achievements. Yumen is six meters high, with a main gate and two small gates, a total of ten meters wide. When it is set off, rows of colorful fireworks are intertwined on the gate; under Yumen, groups of carp and shrimp, led by the giant fish, swim, play in the water, and jump. It is really a peaceful and joyful scene of "dragons soaring and dancing in the wind, singing in the prosperous times, and fish leaping and people enjoying peace and prosperity", which will be unforgettable forever. Burning the Fire Dragon This is the finale of a large-scale fire dragon fireworks show with a unique style. The fire dragon appears at the designated location, with the gong and drum team, abalone, carp, shrimp, hydrangea, and finally the fire dragon. There are also "fire cable teams" on both sides of the fire dragon (fire cable: a kind of torch, made of bamboo strips into a long, like a cable, chopped into pieces when used), which divide the "fire cable" into a semicircle. The tall dragon head, with two shining eyes, is majestic, like 0. After entering the square with the sound of cannons, while circling the field, nodding to the viewing platform and the audience to pay tribute. After circling the field three times, it is ignited, first spitting out fire beads from its mouth, and then the whole body emits a wonderful brilliance, thousands of sparks of various colors interweave together, sometimes thousands of arrows pierce the clouds, the sky is full of brilliance, the sky and the earth are integrated, the fire dragon is tumbling in the sea of fire, the momentum is spectacular and touching. Every year when the Lantern Festival comes, the people of Putai, men, women, old and young, are eager to see the fire dragon performance to bring good luck to people. If the sparks burn "bubbles" on your skin (the local accent "bubbles" is homophonic with the "ticket" in "banknote", which means money), then you will definitely make a fortune. Especially the one who holds the dragon head is even more amazing. People are eager to pay, and only the one who pays the most can hold the dragon head. Holding the dragon head will definitely bring good luck in the new year. People call it "big dragon luck" (getting rich). In June 2008, the Fengshun Putai Fire Dragon was included in the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage protection list.