CCTV News (News Broadcast): Lion dance, also known as "little dance", "little lamp" and "little dance", is one of China's excellent traditional folk arts. It is divided into two categories: southern lion and northern lion. The southern lion has agile expression and the northern lion is cute and cute. On the Cultural China Tour on January 29, we approached the "North and South Lion Dance".

Beili Village, Xushui District, Baoding City, Hebei Province is the birthplace of the northern lion and is known as the "Sect of the Northern Lion". During the Spring Festival, a lion dance performance is being performed in Beili Village. Amid the sound of gongs and drums, the mighty and majestic "lion" suddenly shook his head and tail, and sometimes lowered his eyebrows and nodded. Sometimes he also made movements such as "looking at the sky and looking up the moon" and "standing upright in the mountain", interspersed with unique skills such as "four lions stepping on the ball over the seesaw" and "single leg rotated 360 degrees" on the plum blossom stake, which won the cheers of the villagers at the scene.

Xu Shui lion dance originated from the Eastern Han Dynasty and showed the brave, rough and bold personality and distinct local characteristics of the northern Chinese people. In 2006, Xushui lion dance was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. In terms of performance format, Xu Shui's lion dance can be divided into "literary lion" and "martial lion". "Wen Lion" focuses on expressing the lion's lively expression and gentle and playful personality, while "Wu Lion" focuses on the cooperation between the two and has strong skills. During the performance, the literary lion and the martial lion are alternately performed, with the rhythm rising and falling, causing the audience's emotions to rise and fall with the lion's dancing.

"Where there are Chinese people, there must be a lion awakening." Guangdong lion awakening is the southern lion among Chinese lion dances, which is a cultural activity that integrates martial arts, dance and music. The southern lion originates from the image of auspicious beast in the Chinese mythology "The Dragon Born of Nine Sons", so there is a horn on the top of the head of the southern lion. During festivals or major events in Lingnan, there must be a lion awakening to entertain. The drum sounds and the lion wakes up. Guangdong lion awakens use rich body language to express the joy, anger, sorrow and happiness of the lion. The lion dance movements are mostly mainly based on the southern fist and horse stance, which simulates the activity state of the lion, jumping happily, and is vivid.

On May 20, 2006, Guangdong lion dance was selected into the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. With the development of the times, Guangdong lion dance performances have developed from traditional ground and bench to high platforms and high poles, and then to higher difficulty plum blossom piles and water flying lions. In order to better inherit and promote lion dance culture, Guangzhou has now opened lion dance courses in 198 schools, and promote excellent traditional culture in living inheritance through various forms such as intangible cultural heritage entering campuses and communities.