Fire dragon dance show staged for tourists in Harbin

Actors perform a fire dragon dance in a shower of molten iron at the Volga Manor in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Jan. 29, 2024.  (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

As the final stop of a perform tour which started from Tongliang District of Chongqing Municipality to greet the upcoming Spring Festival, actors of the Tongliang Dragon Dance team staged a grand fire dragon dance show for tourists here on Monday.

The dragon dance has a history of thousands of years in Tongliang. In May 2006, the Tongliang Dragon Dance was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage.

Different from regular dragon dances, the fire dragon is the most heart-shaking part of the Tongliang Dragon Dance. The "fires" or "sparks" are molten iron at about 1,500 degrees Celsius.

Actors perform a fire dragon dance in a shower of molten iron at the Volga Manor in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Jan. 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Actors perform a fire dragon dance in a shower of molten iron at the Volga Manor in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Jan. 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 29, 2024 shows actors performing a fire dragon dance in a shower of molten iron at the Volga Manor in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Actors perform a fire dragon dance in a shower of molten iron at the Volga Manor in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Jan. 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)