With its long coastline, southeastern Fujian province is often associated with water. But in the month following Chinese Lunar New Year each year, fire, heat and bright lights are the focus of local celebrations.

During this festive period, which extended into the days after Lantern Festival, every town in Fujian was ablaze with roaring bonfires, dazzling bright sparks, fireworks, torches and firecrackers, a reflection of the local people's fiery passion for life.

Here we shine a spotlight on some of these vibrant local traditions.

Fire treading in Fuzhou

Residents of Qibu village in Fuzhou, Fujian province carry a Buddhist statue across a field of burning charcoal. The village's fire treading ceremony is a ritual that dates back centuries. [Photo/Fuzhou Evening News]

Jinshui Temple in Qibu, a village in Fuzhou, is dedicated to the Buddhist deity Sandai Zushi, which is a popular deity in Fujian and many countries in Southeast Asia. It is a local tradition in the village to carry a statue of Sandai Zushi on a palanquin across a field of burning charcoal every four years to pray for a bumper harvest and a happy life.

The ritual has been held in Qibu for several centuries and has been named part of Fuzhou city's intangible cultural heritage.

This year was a fire treading year, and the event attracted a huge amount of interest from local residents, media and scholars of folk culture. Thousands of people arrived to watch the ceremony, including academics that had traveled from regions across China, Singapore and Indonesia.