Music and dance filled the air at a cultural square in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province on Friday, as thousands of people gathered to join the traditional Munao Zongge dance, a national intangible cultural heritage.
At the square in Longchuan County, roughly 10,000 people, including local people of ethnic groups and tourists from across the country, took part in the grand song-and-dance celebration, stepping in unison as the dance formations shifted.
Among the dancers were members of the Jingpo people, one of Yunnan's many ethnic groups, who wore elaborate costumes adorned with peacock feathers.
Literally meaning "dancing together," Munao Zongge is the largest song-and-dance celebration of the Jingpo people. The dance, passed down for thousands of years in the region, is a spectacular blend of music, ritual, rhythm, and color.
Its formations are constantly changing, yet the performance never falls into disarray. The key lies with the lead dancers who control the rhythm and route of the entire dance.
The event unfolded on the second day of the week-long National Day holiday, a peak travel and tourism period when people across the country flock to cultural and scenic destinations.
Thousands join vibrant traditional dance in Yunnan during National Day holiday
