Young faces keep Firecracker Dragon Festival alive in Binyang, S China's Guangxi

The Binyang Paolong Festival, a national intangible cultural heritage, is held on the 11th day of the first lunar month, namely Feb. 27 this year, in Binyang county, Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Online/Pang Huiwen)

People celebrated the Binyang Paolong Festival — literally translated as the Firecracker Dragon Festival — on the 11th day of the first lunar month, which fell on Feb. 27 this year, with 105 dragons parading through Binyang county, Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The festival, a national intangible cultural heritage, has a history spanning nearly 1,000 years in Binyang.

Walking at the front of the dragon procession, a girl cut a striking figure — torch in hand, a bamboo basket of homemade gunpowder at her waist.

At just 11 years old, Wu Yuhong is the youngest performer in the troupe, tossing gunpowder toward the dragons to create dazzling bursts of firelight, yet her movements were anything but tentative.

Wu Yuhong throws gunpowder toward a dragon to create brilliant bursts of firelight during the Binyang Paolong Festival, a national intangible cultural heritage, in Binyang county, Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Online/Pang Huiwen)

"She's loved the firecracker dragon since she was little," said her father, Wu Gexin, 53, head of the Jing'an Street Firecracker Dragon troupe in Binyang and her mentor in the intangible cultural heritage. "In the beginning, she would sneak off with leftover gunpowder from my performances and practice with a lighter on her own — never afraid of getting burned."

Wu Yuhong has been learning the art of gunpowder throwing from her father since age 3 or 4, chasing after firecracker dragons ever since.

Only by reading the wind and judging force and angle with precision can a performer send the gunpowder bursting open in midair, spinning into rings of smoke that create the breathtaking illusion of a dragon soaring through the clouds, Wu Gexin said.

"The Binyang Paolong Festival needs young people like me to carry it forward," his daughter said.

Yingge dance, a vivid traditional art form originating from the Chaoshan region of south China's Guangdong Province, is staged at the Binyang Paolong Festival in Binyang county, Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Online/Pang Huiwen)

Wu Yuhong represents a new generation of inheritors keeping Paolong culture alive.

The festival has become one of Binyang county's cultural calling cards. This year's edition drew more than 547,000 visitors. To date, Binyang's firecracker dragon performances have been staged more than 1,000 times across China, as well as in Singapore and South Korea.

This year, Yingge dance, a vivid traditional art form originating from the Chaoshan region of south China's Guangdong Province, was also staged at the Binyang Paolong Festival.