Giant lantern dragon stuns Beijing

On Feb 12, during the Lantern Festival, a stunning giant dragon lantern, stretching over 120 meters, wound its way along Beijing's Central Axis, passing iconic landmarks such as the Bird's Nest stadium and the Water Cube.

This grand parade was led by a bench dragon performance team from Pujiang county, Jinhua, Zhejiang province.

To celebrate the Chinese New Year, the Museum of the Communist Party of China and the China National Arts and Crafts Museum invited 10 intangible cultural heritage projects from across the country to perform in Beijing. The Pujiang bench dragon, chosen as the finale act, captivated audiences with multiple performances on Feb 11 and 12.

Among the 129 bench dragon performers, 19-year-old Zhang Xiang stood out as the youngest.

A first-year accounting student at a university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, this event marked his first time performing the bench dragon outside his home province.

"I'm deeply honored to showcase my hometown's intangible cultural heritage in the capital," he said. "This performance allows us to share the united, courageous, and optimistic spirit of Pujiang with audiences across China and the world."

The bench dragon has been one of the grandest traditional folk cultural activities in Pujiang since the Tang and Song dynasties (618-1279).

During the Spring Festival, each household in local villages crafts a section of the dragon's body using a wooden bench, attaching a lantern to the top. These sections are then connected, forming a long, impressive dragon lantern.

The Pujiang bench dragon is a rich and multifaceted art form that seamlessly blends calligraphy, painting, paper-cutting, bamboo weaving, and root carving with elements of sport, acrobatics, and dance.

The bench dragon brought to Beijing is particularly impressive in scale, featuring a massive 3.5-meter-long, 2.3-meter-high dragon head, a tail, and 66 sub-lanterns forming its body.

According to the Pujiang County Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism, and Sports, 22 calligraphers and painters contributed to the dragon's design. One side of each lantern displays exquisite calligraphy, while the other is adorned with vibrant paintings.

The performance was a spectacle, involving over 70 dragon dancers, a ceremonial guard group, and a variety show team. The guards ushered in the dragon with large dragon and tiger flags, while the variety show team created a lively, festive atmosphere with the sounds of traditional gongs, drums, and suona (a double-reed woodwind instrument).