Nanfangquan town is located at the southern end of Wuxi city, Jiangsu province. Stretching into Taihu Lake, this fertile land boasts a patchwork of rivers and abundant fish and rice. Seven-thousand years ago, the region’s ancestors settled in this ancient town, establishing a rich culture.

Folk activities celebrating Lantern Festival in Nanfangquan date back to the end of the 1940s. Around the 15th day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar, every household would hang red lanterns and set off fireworks, and local folk artists would perform the dragon dance, lianxiang dance and walk on stilts to seek a promising new year. During the cultural revolution (1966-76), however, folk activities celebrating Lantern Festival were suspended. Lantern Festival celebrations wouldn’t start again until reform and opening-up. In the 1990s, folk customs celebrating Lantern Festival were revitalized. To date, Nanfangquan boasts a dozen folk activities such as the dragon dance, lianxiang dance, boat dance and waist drum dance, and nearly 20 distinctive dance troupes. The annual Lantern Festival folk customs parade in this ancient town has become a festive feast for local residents and a folk gala found nowhere else.

Dragon dance [Photo provided to China Daily]

Boat dance [Photo provided to China Daily]

Performers play the roles of "A Fu" and "A Xi". [Photo provided to China Daily]