Guozhuang bonfire dance in Tibet

Guozhuang village is in Qamdo Prefecture, in the east part of Tibet autonomous region. Guozhuang's bonfire dance is the most famous folk dance in Tibet.

In the old days, when traveling merchants took their rest for the night, they built a bonfire for cooking teas. After dinner they danced around the bonfire, to relax after a long day of traveling.

Now Guozhuang bonfire dance is performed for festivals, ceremonies or weddings. Both men and women get into a circle, hand in hand. The song begins slowly, then gradually speeds up. Men always take the first lines of lyrics, and women reply. They repeat, until they get into the same happy rhythm.

Guozhuang bonfire dance was cataloged into the first set of national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.

Editor: Xu Yang