To celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, the charcoal sparks dance, an intangible cultural heritage of China, provided a visual feast for visitors at a scenic spot in east China's Anhui Province As night fell at the Qiyunshan scenic spot in Xiuning County on Saturday, a charcoal sparks dance performance illuminated the sky. As the performers waved bamboo poles adorned with spark-emitting cages, sparks transformed into countless golden flowers.
"I've seen it on TV before. It's even more amazing and enjoyable to see on site. I highly recommend it," said Shen Lusha, a tourist.
The charcoal sparks dance is a traditional folk dance originating from central China's Hunan Province. The performers place red-hot charcoal fuel into a small iron wire cage, which is then tied to the tip of a bamboo pole with a rope. Then they swing the bamboo pole, triggering the wire lantern to move. In the night, the dance creates a mesmerizing display, with changing movements and flying sparks.
"The dimmer the light, the better it will be," said Wang Tongzhang, an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage.
The dance not only won acclaim from the audience offline, but also gained the attention of tens of millions of online viewers on the short video platforms.
"Dancing requires a lot of efforts. Once you start, you have to keep going. The bigger the movements, the larger the sparks. So if you begin dancing, you can't pause. Sometimes, the charcoal sparks may even fall on my head and burn my hair. Through my videos, I hope people can see and understand this traditional culture," said Shi Haifeng, a short video maker.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday this year, Qiyunshan scenic spot has created an immersive tourism experience with focus on intangible cultural heritage performances, aiming to attract first-time visitors to return.
"While enjoying the beautiful scenery of Qiyun Mountain, tourists can also immerse themselves in intangible cultural heritage skills. During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, it is expected that the number of tourists will exceed 100,000," said Tao Ru, manager of the cultural tourism department of the Qiyunshan Management Committee.
The Mid-Autumn Festival in China is a festival in honor of the moon and harvest, as well as an occasion for family and friend reunions to eat mooncakes and appreciate the moon. It falls on the fifteenth day of the eight month in the traditional Chinese calendar.
This year's festival falls on Sept 17, with the public holiday running from Sunday to Tuesday.
Dazzling charcoal sparks dance provides visual fest for visitors in China's Anhui
