300,000 People Enjoy Zhangjiajie Lantern Carnival

　　On February 22, more than 4,000 folk artists including Tujia, Bai, Miao, Dong ethnic people, got together in Zhangjiajie downtown, giving folk shows to celebrate Chinese Lantern Festival. Nearly 300,000 residents and tourists there participated in this pageant.

　　Zhangjiajie, a populated place of 33 ethnic groups, has over 730 items of 17 categories of intangible cultural heritages. The annual Lantern Carnival here, after more than 2000 years, has become a stage for folk arts and performances, and was listed as one of Chinese Major Festivity Cultural Brands in 2012.

　　Zhangjiajie Lantern Carnival is featured with kinds of volunteer performances by the locals from five or six to over 80 years old, including dragon and lion lanterns, Dayong Yang Drama, Maogusi Dance of the Tujia Minority, Drum Dance of the Bai Minority, Nuo Drama, Three-stick drum, and Guigu Qigong.

　　Beyond that, some unique folk arts in Zhangjiajie, which even shined on international stages, enchanted both Chinese and foreign audiences, such as Nuotan Instruments debuting at Barbican Music Festival, Maogusi Dance winning several awards in Chinese folk art festivals, and Dayong Hard Qigong bearing the palms in international martial art competitions.

　　This year, neighboring counties and cities were invited to send performing art troupes to join in the carnival. Thousands of millions of visitors from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, as well as South Korea, Southeast Asia, and Europe and America, participated in this event. Over 100,000 residents from surrounding areas swarmed into Zhangjiajie downtown, to enjoy the carnival.