Lion dance is a traditional dance item in the third batch of representative items of Huai'an's municipal intangible cultural heritage. Historical origins Lion dance is a performance in which performers dress up as lions under the music of gongs and drums, and use various postures of the human body and the cooperation of the lion head and tail to blend strength, amplitude, speed, etc. into lion dance skills. In the changes of dynamic and static shapes, it shows the lion's bravery, fierceness, naughtiness and lively habits. It originated in the Three Kingdoms period and became popular during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It has a history of more than 1,000 years. The lion dance of Zhang Huaibao's family in Qingpu District is a family tradition with a history of more than 100 years. The Zhang family has lived on the north bank of the Liyun Canal in Huai'an for generations. In the late Qing Dynasty, Zhang Huaibao's grandfather Zhang Wanmin was proficient in lion dance, with many routines and superb skills. He was very famous in the Qingjiangpu area. Zhang Huaibao learned lion dance from his father Zhang Dianwen since he was a child. On the basis of inheriting the lion dance skills of his ancestors, he traveled all over the country and widely absorbed the skills and styles of the southern and northern lions, forming the Zhang family lion dance that integrates the graceful style of the northern lion and the mighty style of the southern lion. Basic content Zhang's "lion" is made by traditional hand-made methods, and the main materials are bamboo strips, cotton cloth, silk thread, iron wire, etc. First, use bamboo strips to make the outline of the lion's head, and then cover it with cotton cloth. Then draw patterns, fill in colors, and decorate with ornaments, and the lion's head is basically formed. Zhang's lion dance style is mainly northern lion, and the lion's body is full-body covered. The performer's clothes and pants are used as the lion's limbs, that is, the lion's front and back legs, and the upper of the shoe is a lion claw pattern. When dancing the lion, two people work together to play the lion, and they can dance alone or in pairs. Another person holds a colored ball and leads the lion to dance with the cooperation of Beijing drums, Beijing cymbals, Beijing gongs and other instruments. Zhangjia lion dance integrates martial arts, dance and acrobatics. The main movements and skills include: scratching, combing hair, stretching waist, picking ears, rolling rusty balls, rolling, pouncing on food, shaking mane, running through fire rings, chasing, crawling, two lions fighting for a ball, etc. Among them, the difficult movements such as standing on the plum blossom pile (i.e. the lion head and lion tail both stand on one foot), dancing on the altar, rotating the lion body 360 degrees, standing upside down on a high platform or plum blossom pile, catching and throwing balls are amazing. The lion dancers show the majesty, stability and strength of the lion with their movement skills. They have the characteristics of vivid forms, tacit coordination and distinct rhythm. They integrate dance art and folk culture and are deeply loved by the masses. It is an excellent traditional folk art.