The picture shows the stilts flower-drum performance. Photo by Fu Zijia, the Correspondent

Zhu Xian, the Journalist, and Yang Ao and Zhu Zhengtao, the Correspondents

On March 3, the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, a folk custom that has endured for hundreds of years—the stilts flower-drum performance—was staged with great excitement beneath a 2,500-year-old Pteroceltis tatarinowii Maxim. (an ancient tree) in Machenghe Village, Donggong Town, Nanzhang County, Xiangyang, Hubei Province.

Machenghe Village, a traditional village formed during the Ming Dynasty and hidden deep in the Jing Mountain, was filled with dense footsteps and joyful laughter on this day. From the Qin family’s old residence to the Li family’s old residence, performers stood on wooden stilts and danced gracefully to the rhythm of vigorous drumbeats. In the gentle stilts performance, performers twisted their bodies in Yangko dance steps, fans fluttering up and down in their hands with elegant movements; the martial stilts performance was thrilling and spectacular, as performers leaped and spun in daring sequences, presenting difficult moves such as “Five Sons Achieving Success” and “The Immortal Passing over Their Bellies,” drawing rounds of cheers from villagers and tourists.

“I’ve been performing on stilts for seventeen years, playing the dan (female) role, and I come every Lantern Festival,” said Liu Chaoxu, a municipal-level representative inheritor of the Nanzhang stilts flower-drum tradition, as he steadily walked several standard Yangko steps on his stilts. According to him, the craft has been passed down through generations. Originally, villagers devised these 50-centimeter-high stilts to wade across the Maoping River in front of the village to reach their farmland. Unexpectedly, it later evolved into the liveliest spectacle during festivals and celebrations, symbolizing joy and a wish for peace.

On this land steeped in rural traditions, stilts performances have always been closely connected with the local community. Most performers are villagers themselves. Once the gongs and drums begin, they hoist the wooden stilts and transform into performers; when the stilts come off, they return to the fields as ordinary farmers. This spontaneously developed, generation-to-generation tradition distinguishes Donggong Town’s stilts performance from stage art, preserving a strong rural flavor. It has therefore been included in the provincial list of intangible cultural heritage.

“In the past, people used them to cross rivers and farm for a living; now we gather to perform during festivals to remember our homesickness and encourage more young people to participate so that this old craft can be passed on,” said Qin Xinxiong, Director of the Village and Town Construction and Protection Service Center of Donggong Town, as he watched the lively scene among the crowd. The land beneath his feet is both a Chinese Landscape Village and a Chinese Traditional Village. Along the Macheng River stand scattered ancient residences such as the Qin, Li, and Wang family homes, while stone-paved paths wind beneath ancient trees, forming a well-preserved example of traditional villages in northwestern Hubei Province.

Behind the lively folk festivities lies a conscious effort to preserve heritage. In April 2024, Nanzhang County was selected as a national demonstration county for the cluster-based protection and utilization of traditional villages, bringing ten national-level traditional villages under unified planning. Donggong Town has invested more than 20 million yuan to systematically restore historic buildings and upgrade infrastructure including roads, water supply, and drainage. Rather than large-scale demolition and reconstruction, the local government has adopted a model of “micro-renovation and refined improvement,” preserving the texture of old streets and the original appearance of stone roads as much as possible.

“Protecting the old houses and ancient trees means preserving the roots of the villagers; inheriting the stilts flower-drum tradition means safeguarding our own culture,” Qin Xinxiong said firmly.

As the sound of gongs and drums gradually faded, the crowd lingered. Some villagers had come specially from neighboring communities; young people livestreamed the scene on their smartphones; others were migrants returning from the cities to celebrate the festival at home. They paused in front of old houses, took photos beside the stilts, and in this century-old village witnessed the vibrant vitality of traditional crafts as well as a community’s determination to cherish and protect its culture.

This Lantern Festival folk performance was not merely festive excitement—it was also a profound expression of cultural identity. Deep in the Jing Mountain, the traditional crafts passed down through generations, and the old houses weathered by time are being rediscovered and carefully preserved. Rather than being sealed away in museums, they continue to live and grow in people’s daily lives, shining with renewed brilliance this spring.

“Every Spring Festival, there are folk performances like these. This is the unique flavor of the Spring Festival in our area,” said Du Chunlian, a villager from a neighboring community. Hearing about the Lantern Festival celebration in Machenghe Village, she set out early in the morning from Luping Village to attend. “As the saying goes, ‘The Spring Festival is not truly over until after the Lantern Festival.’ Watching this performance today brings the Spring Festival to a perfect close.”