62-year-old artist keeps firecracker dragon lantern burning in Guangxi

Zou Yute decorates a firecracker dragon lantern in Binyang county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Feb 16, 2016. [Phot/Xinhua]

Zou Yute, a 62-year-old folk artist, is an inheritor of the traditional craftsmanship of making firecracker dragon lanterns in Binyang county of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Firecracker and Dragon Festival, which falls on the 11th day of the first month of the Lunar New Year, was inscribed into the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008. It is an original local festival celebrated by both the ethnic Han and the Zhuang people of the region.

The Dragon Dance in Firecrackers is derived from the traditional dragon dance. Bare-chested performers hold dragons on poles as people march and dance on the streets. While the dragon dance is going on, firecrackers are set off. This custom has a tradition of over 1,000 years in Binyang.