Tens of thousands of Taiwanese audience cheered and applauded for glittering 
sparks and a jubilant dance as a golden dragon flew in the fire with 
bare-chested men dancing at the main site of the Nantou lantern show in Taiwan 
on the 13th day of the first lunar month.

This was this year's debut of Chongqing Tongliang's fire dragon dance in Nantou 
County. At the invitation of Taiwan's Nantou County and Changhua County, 
Chongqing Tongliang will stage five performances in Nantou and two in Changhua 
to celebrate the upcoming Lantern Festival and share the joy of the Chinese New 
Year, according to the Publicity Department of Tongliang District of Chongqing 
City.

At Sunday night's performance, eight fire-burning stoves were formed in a 
circle, and 16 bare-chested men sprinkled the special iron water into the air. 
The iron water molten by the heat of over 1,200 degrees Celsius flew into the 
sky, like a fairy scattering flowers. Held by other 20 shirtless men, two 
golden dragons with their bodies firing fireworks, flew up and down and shuttle 
back and forth in the sea of fire. Flame sparks and flashes illuminated the 
night sky of Nantou.

Li Shimin, a 68-year-old inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage 
Tongliang fire dragon dance, said that this was his third time to perform in 
Taiwan and he was excited at Taiwan compatriots' enthusiasm. "I want to show 
the precious heritage left by the ancestors to Taiwan compatriots in an 
authentic manner. It will carry forward our dragon culture and deepen the 
friendship of the people on both sides of the strait," Li added.

All the props and equipment including two fire dragons, eight stoves, and 
utensils such as pliers, coal and bamboo spoons were airlifted from Chongqing 
to Taiwan in order to present the original fire dragon performance to local 
people. The yellow mud used for stoves is also produced locally by Tongliang.

Tongliang fire dragon dance started to perform in Taiwan in 2017 during the 
Lantern Festival, which has been very popular among local people. Six 
performances of Tongliang fire dragon dance was staged in Taiwan during last 
year's Lantern Festival, attracting more than 1.5 million audience.

Different from previous years, this year's fire dragon performance has been 
upgraded. The new performance not only sees its time extended from 9 minutes to 
15 minutes, but also has the flag performance and the torch performance added 
to make the whole show more enjoyable.

Chongqing Tongliang fire dragon dance has a long history and is one of the 
first batch of national intangible cultural heritage masterpieces. The fire 
dragon uses molten iron water for sparks, supplemented by different fire at the 
mouth, the ridge, the belly, the field, etc., forming a spectacular 
three-dimensional fire array during the dance.

SOURCE: The Publicity Department of Tongliang District of Chongqing City

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   Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=330104

   Caption: Chongqing fire dragon dance performed in Taiwan to mark Lantern 
Festival