Culture
2024.02.16 14:55 GMT+8

Quanzhou's festive parade 'cai jie' resumes during Spring Festival

Updated 2024.02.16 14:55 GMT+8
CGTN

With 1,500 performers in 30 different formations, the culture-defining folk custom "cai jie," a type of festive parade in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, resumed on February 15 after two decades, bringing audiences 30 kinds of performances this Spring Festival that have been listed as forms of intangible cultural heritage.

A straw-woven dragon is seen during the festive parade "cai jie" in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, on February 15, 2024. /CFP

A formation of performers holds a dragon made of wooden benches during the festive parade "cai jie" in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province on February 15, 2024. /CFP

The three-hour parade included the most distinctive folk customs of different counties in Quanzhou. From straw-woven dragons, wooden-bench-made dragons to southern Chinese music, operas, martial arts and ancient dances for exorcising evils, the performers either performed while advancing or on a spot, creating scenes of jubilation during the ongoing Spring Festival holidays.

A float representing the Xunpu fisherwoman, a traditional existence in coastal Fujian Province, is seen during the festive parade "cai jie" in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province on February 15, 2024. /CFP  

A lion dance is performed during the festive parade "cai jie" in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province on February 15, 2024. /CFP

Performers wearing costumes of Chinese mythological figures walk during the festive parade "cai jie" in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province on February 15, 2024. /CFP

The parade has attracted visitors from the city and beyond. Lu Qiming and his family from nearby Guangdong Province especially drove to Quanzhou for the event. Lu said the drive was definitely worth it. The event is said to have witnessed over 300,000 people.

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