A troupe dances with a dragon costume in Tongren, Guizhou Province, February 20, 2024. /CFP
A troupe dances with a dragon costume in Tongren, Guizhou Province, February 20, 2024. /CFP
Troupes dance with dragon costumes in Tongren, Guizhou Province, February 20, 2024. /CFP
Dragon dance troupes line up at a county stadium in Tongren, Guizhou Province, February 20, 2024. /CFP
A troupe dances with a dragon costume in Tongren, Guizhou Province, February 20, 2024. /CFP
Looping and swishing, "dragons" moved through the arena of the county sports stadium in Tongren, Guizhou as a festival of dance and color unfolded. The Gelao Maolong Festival took place in the city's Shiqian County and featured 78 dragons. Troupes from various villages took part in the event, dancing alongside each other in celebration of Chinese New Year. The festival is a tradition of the area's local Gelao ethnic group.