China News Service, Taiyuan, February 14th: Title: The "Taste of the Year" in the Millennium Jin Temple: "Looking for the Dragon" Dragon Dance Appreciation Folk Customs
Author Gao Yuqing
Staff members dressed in "dragon baby" costumes interacted closely with tourists; tourists raised dragon dance sticks above their heads to experience traditional culture immersively; inheritors of intangible cultural heritage performed carrying iron sticks to show tourists local Spring Festival folk customs... February 14 On the fifth day of the first lunar month, Jinci Temple, a thousand-year-old royal garden, was filled with a strong New Year atmosphere.
During the Spring Festival holiday, in front of the Notre Dame Hall of Jinci Temple, Xugou carried an iron rod performance to attract tourists. Photo by Deng Jiarui
Dragon dance, commonly known as playing with dragon lanterns, has become a custom across China from the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival to pray for a good harvest, peace and auspiciousness. The reporter saw a wonderful "dragon dance" showdown between tourists in front of the Three Saints Temple of Jinci.
Visitors can immerse themselves in the dragon dance performance at Jinci Temple. Photo by Gao Yuqing
During the Spring Festival, tourists can immerse themselves in dragon dance performances at Jinci Temple. Photo by Gao Yuqing
Pan Yijun, a 12-year-old girl from Liaoning, participated with her parents and immersed herself in the charm of traditional culture. "This is my first time to Shanxi, my first time to Jinci Temple, and my first time to experience dragon dancing. I feel like I dance very well and I like it very much."
Jinci Temple, located in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, is the largest existing temple-style classical garden in China with the longest inter-regional era and the most complete preservation. It has rich cultural heritage. In the temple, there are more than 100 buildings of various types from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, more than 100 sculptures since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and 29 ancient trees that are thousands of years old.
During the Spring Festival holiday, Jinci Museum was crowded with visitors. The eight wooden carved dragon pillars in front of the Notre Dame Hall attract tourists from all over the world to come here to "hunt for dragons". Photo by Gao Yuqing
In the Year of the Dragon, the eight wooden carved dragon pillars in front of the Notre Dame Hall of Jinci attracted tourists from all over the world to come here to "hunt for dragons". Photo by Gao Yuqing
In the Year of the Dragon, the eight wooden carved dragon pillars in front of the Notre Dame Hall of Jinci attracted tourists from all over the world to come here to "hunt for dragons". It is understood that it was built during the Northern Song Dynasty and is the earliest existing wooden carved dragon column in China. Each of the eight coiled dragons has its own name. The two in the middle with wings spread out are Yinglong, and the symmetrical ones on both sides are Panlong, Jiaolong and Chilong. After thousands of years of wind and rain, they are still intact, with different shapes and lifelike features. Many tourists take photos here.
During the Spring Festival, Jia Lei, a tourist from Tianjin, chose to take his family to Shanxi for fun, and Jinci Temple was one of the stops on his trip. He found that "dragon" elements are everywhere in the Xian Hall, Notre Dame Hall, and Water Mirror Terrace of Jinci Temple. "These dragons are beautifully carved, and the buildings in the temple are all wooden structures, retaining their original appearance, which is breathtaking."
During the Spring Festival holiday, Jinci Museum was crowded with visitors. Photo by Gao Yuqing
During the Spring Festival this year, Jinci Museum takes "dragon" culture as the core and combines local folk customs to launch "Make a dragon lantern clang clang clang", "National Chaozhou dragon hat DIY", "Chenlong Xianrui Visiting the Ancient Temple" and "Dragon Sings in the Sky and Fulong Gao". A series of online and offline cultural activities such as "Photography" and "Dragon Traveling Around the World Check-in" allow the public to immersively experience the "taste" of the Year of the Dragon.
"There are many 'dragon' elements in Jinci Temple. After visitors find five places, take photos with them and forward them to their circle of friends, they can get a small gift." Yang Chengwen, deputy director of the Public Reception Department of Jinci Museum, said.
In addition to the "Looking for the Dragon" check-in in the Year of the Dragon, the museum also holds intangible cultural heritage experiences such as paper-cutting and rubbings, as well as folk performances and other activities. In front of the water mirror platform of Jinci Temple, the famous Xugoubei iron rod art performance attracts tourists to watch and take photos. I saw an adult man with an iron rod standing behind his back, holding a six- or seven-year-old child up and down with the steps of the actor carrying the iron rod. The child in costume on the iron rod waved his sleeves in mid-air, following the rhythm of gongs and drums. Transform action.
In front of the water mirror platform of Jinci Temple, the famous Xugoubei iron rod art performance attracts tourists to watch and take photos. Photo by Gao Yuqing
Zhou Hongliang, 48 years old, has performed Xugou Bei Iron Bar for more than 30 years and has performed across the country many times. "Xugoubei Iron Bar has a history of hundreds of years. Jinci Temple is the number one scenic spot in Taiyuan. During the Spring Festival, we perform four performances here every day. We hope to let more foreign tourists understand the Xugoubei Iron Bar and feel the charm of local folk culture."
Not only that, during the Spring Festival this year, the Jinci Museum also innovatively launched the "Jinci Biyelong" emoticon package based on the wooden dragon carved from the Notre Dame Temple. Through dynamic cartoon expressions, the various movements and emotions of the wooden dragon were displayed, making it popular at home and abroad. People get a close look at Jinci Temple from multiple angles. (over)