The “Taste of the Year” in the Millennium Jin Temple: Looking for the “Dragon”, Dragon Dance and Appreciation Folk Customs
Author Gao Yuqing
China News Service, Taiyuan, February 14th: 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, a thousand-year-old royal garden, is filled with the flavor of the New Year.
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.
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, longest-lasting, and best-preserved temple-style classical garden in China, with rich cultural relics. 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.
In the Year of the Dragon in Jiachen, 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 look for “dragons”. It is understood that these Panlong Columns were built during the Northern Song Dynasty and are the earliest existing wooden Panlong Columns in China. Each of the eight coiled dragons has its own name.
Jia Lei, a tourist from Tianjin, took his family to Shanxi during the Spring Festival, and Jinci Temple was one of the stops on the itinerary. 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 this year, Jinci Museum takes dragon culture as its core and combines local folk customs to launch “Make a dragon lantern and clang clang clang”, “National trend dragon hat DIY”, “Chen dragon presents auspiciousness to visit the ancient temple” and “Dragon sings in the sky and the dragon shines high” A series of online and offline cultural activities such as “Dragon Traveling Around the World Check-in” allow the public to immerse themselves in the “Taste of the Year” in the Year of the Dragon.
According to Yang Chengwen, deputy director of the Public Reception Department of Jinci Museum, “Jinci has many ‘dragon’ elements. After visitors find five places, take photos with them and forward them to their circle of friends, they can get a small gift.”
In addition to looking for the “dragon” in the Year of the Dragon to check in, the museum also holds activities such as paper-cutting, rubbings and other intangible cultural heritage experiences, as well as folk performances. In front of the water mirror platform of Jinci Temple, Xugou carried an iron rod artistic performance, attracting tourists to watch and take photos.
Zhou Hongliang, 48, has been performing Xugoubei 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.”
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 Hall. Through dynamic cartoon expressions, the various movements and emotions of the wooden dragon were displayed, allowing people at home and abroad to learn from many aspects. Get a closer look at Jinci Temple from a different perspective. (over)
(Editor: Miao Su)