Dragon Dance
Having a long history of nearly 400 years, Dragon Dance is popular in Fenghua of Ningbo. The dragon used in Fenghua Dragon Dance is mainly cloth dragon accompanied with black dragon, grass dragon, embroidery dragon and white dragon, the color of which may be black, yellow or black-yellow. It's said that black dragon brings the water to the water vat, and the yellow dragon brings grain to the granary; therefore, folks express their hope for a good harvest and a peaceful life through the Dragon Dance.
The varied and interesting action of the Dragon Dance includes: revolving, strolling, rolling, jumping and playing etc. the player holding the head of the dragon is the chief of the team.
Other players, standing face to face with the chief, skillfully swing the body of the dragon accompanied with Fenghua Gong and Drum to produce a happy and warm atmosphere.
In the past, most of the players holding the dragon were farmers who usually played the dragon lantern in rural area. Since the foundation of the Peoples Republic of China, the Dragon Dance, as a kind of interesting folk dance, has been further developed. Fenghua of Ningbo is thus called the Hometown of the Dragon Dance.
Dragon Boat Racing
The Dragon Boat Racing, held in the Dongqian Lake area, shares the same style with that of other cities in China. In the racing, each team represents a village on a dragon-boat on which one person is in charge of beating the drum to encourage the players on the boat. The dragon-boat rushes to the target like the freed arrow accompanied with the splashed water and thunderous drum. How exciting the scenery is!
Running Horse Lantern
Running Horse Lantern, which can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty, is popular in Ningbo especially during the period around the Spring Festival. The horse lantern, made of bamboo and colorful cloth, consists of two parts, the front part including the head and the upper part of the horse and the back part including the lower part and the tail of the horse. Generally, players of the Running Horse Lantern are children about 10 years old. The horse lantern is hung on the body of the child. Therefore, the child can carry the horse running and singing with the neck of the horse in his left hand and the horsewhip in his right hand. All the children carried horse lanterns are constantly running under the regulated form, changing forms under the requirements accompanied with all kinds of traditional musical instruments. In addition, Running Horse Lantern is usually carried out in the temple, square and ancestral hall etc during the period from the lunar New Year's Day to the Lantern Festival.
Zaodie
Zaodie, also called the Shoulder and Back Game, quite like Walking on Stilts (another kind of traditional Chinese game), is a kind of folk game mainly existing in Chaiqiao area of Ningbo played in festivals. Zao in Chinese means acting, while Die means that a child stands on the shoulder of an adult. When performing, a child, about ten years old, steps on the shoulder of an adult. When zaodie appeared initially in 1839, the child stepping on the shoulder of the adults acted only as little girls and boys or the eight immortals in the folk-tale. With the development of this folk performance, the children on the shoulder of the adults began to play swords and later even accompanied with sing, gong and drum. The children on the shoulder of the adults are called "Tianpan", whereas the walking adults under the children are called "Diban". Tianpan and Diban must closely cooperate during the performance.