The county of Yongdeng, Lanzhou, Gansu province, has made it a tradition to celebrate Spring Festival and Lantern Festival with Shehuo shows.
Shehuo, or temple fire, originally involved parades with lanterns and torches.
In Yongdeng, the celebration usually starts on the fourth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, and reaches its climax on Lantern Festival.
Chunguan, an official in charge of spring rites, always leads the procession. He sweeps the air with a broom to drive away disasters and plagues and attract auspiciousness and happiness.
On the file leader's heels are the lion and dragon dancers. In some villages, there are two dragons in the Shehuo team: a green one and a yellow one.
The performances of warriors with a tiger and bear are often seen in the next part. These kinds of animal performances originate from the ancient worship of gods and beasts, and embody humanity's ability to overcome nature.
The "Land Boat" (a model boat used as a stage prop in folk dances) performance is staged to express labor and love life of boatmen and women. A colorful boat will be tied around the waist of a female dancer, and she will sing in antiphonal style with a male performer.
Rural folk dances, such as yangko, along with the rhythm of drums and gongs, and stilt walking are also included in the parade.
To present the rolling lights, a group of people run with lamps in their hands. The man-made lamps decorated with flower and bird patterns rotate when they touch the ground.
Lanzhou Taiping Drum dances are popular because of their large presence, dynamic performances and huge number of participants.
The drum is cylindrical, with a height of 70 centimeters, a drum surface of 45 cm, made of double-sided Mongolian leather, and painted with traditional patterns such as Erlong Opera beads. The drum belt is long and can be worn off the shoulders, and the drum body hangs between the feet and knees.
Involving various folk shows and performances, the Shehuo show has passed the test of time and become a carnival embraced by the public.
