Lujia Dragon dance steals the show at cultural demonstration event


(chinadaily.com.cn)

Updated: 2016-06-22

Lujia town's characteristic dragon dance, known as Duan Long Wu, is proving to be a popular performance at the Voice of Suzhou, Rhymes of Elegance event.

A variety of intangible cultural relics were displayed throughout the event, including the dragon dance, on June 12 at Nanjing Museum in the Jiangsu capital of Nanjing.

Dragon dances come in the form of many styles in different regions of China. The Lujia style of dragon dance is special in that the "dragon" used in the dance contains sections propped up by individual dancers.

Such a design makes the Lujia dragon dance challenging because it requires seamless cooperation between dancers to make the sectioned dragon move in unison.

The award-winning dance performance is popular among residents in southern Jiangsu province and has gained recognition from the provincial government and the Culture Ministry of China.

A folklore explanation for the sectioned dragon in the dance is that it is to commemorate the seventh son of the Dragon King.

In Chinese mythology, the princeling was cut into parts as punishment for bringing rain without receiving an official sanction from the heavenly court when a severe drought affected Lujia by withering its crops.

Lujia town is located southeast of Kunshan city, close to Shanghai and Suzhou.

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