The Wooden Bench Dragon Dance, led by the dragon head held aloft by village stalwarts, starts out from the ancestral hall.	A horn blow in the ancestral hall heralds the start of the Dragon Dance.	Lanterns hung on the dancing dragon illuminate the whole village.

Each nation of the world chooses an animal or bird for its symbol; Russia has the bear, the US the bald eagle and Britain the bulldog. China is distinct for being synonymous with the fabulous dragon, whose images are to be seen everywhere. The dragon dance at the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month in Pujiang County, Zhejiang Province is consequently a main event in local folk culture. Pujiang's festive dragons are made from long, colorfully decorated wooden benches linked with wooden sticks into one sinous dragon likeness. This tradition was listed as national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.

The Lantern Festival dragon dance began in Pujiang County in the 7th century and reached its zenith in the 17th and 18th centuries, according to historical records. It is a tradition that has been passed down through generations.

Pujiang dragons comprise anything from a hundred to more than 1,000 2.3-meter-long, 18cm-wide, 5 cm-thick benches, each of which has been adorned by its own household. On the night of the Lantern Festival, local inhabitants assemble their individual bench-sections into the whole dragon and dance it through their town or village. There were altogether 66 such dragons in the 15 towns and townships of Pujiang County at the 2007 Lantern Festival.

The beating drums, brilliant lanterns and fluttering bunting as well as the smell and crackle of firecrackers create an irresistibly festive atmosphere in Pujiang on that night. The dragon dance procession starts off at the ancient ancestral hall . A dozen or so able-bodied men raise a giant five-colored dragonhead and run with it out of the hall, to the accompaniment of suona horns and exploding firecrackers. The dragonhead carriers, followed by the rest of the inhabitants, make their way to the first house. A family representative is sent in to collect the bench, and it is then connected to the dragonhead. Similarly decorated benches are added to this dragon “train” as the villagers’ procession makes its way to each residence. The larger the village, the more households; consequently the longer the dragon and the more complicated the dance.

Almost all villages in Pujiang County have a square, where the assembled dragon makes three circuits before opening its jaws and commencing to dance in earnest. As the beating of the drums reaches fever pitch, the dragon coils, the body first encircling the head and gradually pulling away from it as the dragonhead accelerates its pace. Those in the outer circle need to run fast to maintain the dance momentum, and there are inevitably a few falls. But as they are believed to bring good luck in the coming year, people laugh as they tumble, and the dance happily continues.

The dragon dance carries on in the square for around 15 minutes before proceeding to the ancestral hall or threshing ground of individual households and to the fields, as this augurs luck and a good harvest in the coming year. The dragon rears, lunges and coils in three clockwise and three counterclockwise circuits, in time to the beating of the big village drum. It makes a magnificent spectacle.

As evening falls, the lanterns on each bench linking the dragon are lit and it makes its way along the winding mountain roads. From a distance it resembles a fire-breathing dragon soaring to the sky. At the end of the performance the dragonhead moves to the center of its body to form stamens and its body folds into petals, transforming into a giant blossoming flower.

This festivity is based on a folk tale about a drought that attacked the area in ancient times. No amount of prayers or sacrifices could bring so much as a drop of rain, until the dragon of the east sea took pity on the villagers and sent a downpour unsanctioned by its god. The people were saved, but the dragon’s angry god punished it by hacking it into sections. The townspeople tried to resurrect their savior by connecting it up with wooden benches and walking it around the town.

Making the dragon is a complicated, taboo-ridden process. The bamboo used to fashion the dragonhead must be “stolen” by night. Craftsmen make a daytime reconnoiter of where the best bamboo grows. At nightfall a group enters the bamboo forest, cuts the bamboo, and leaves a red envelope containing cash as compensation. The same ritual applies to the bamboo used to make the benches that are to link up to the dragonhead.

After the dragonhead has been pasted and painted, its eyes are covered with two squares of red paper. There is a formal dragon god invitation ceremony during the Lantern Festival prior to the dance performance. The head of the dragon is placed on the table in the hall, along with sacrificial grains, candies and cakes. A Taoist priest utters an invocation of the dragon god and removes the red paper from the dragon’s eyes. The villagers burn incense and pray, and the lantern holders bathe before starting the performance. After setting off a salvo of firecrackers, the dragonhead is lifted and brought out to the courtyard. The procession is headed by the venerable village senior carrying an incense tray. He is followed by ranks of villagers, the first carrying bunches of firecrackers and candles, the second with gongs and and tiger-headed poles and then the actual dragonhead bearers, soon to be followed by the bench carriers from that form the long dragon body. Children with lanterns in fish, crab and prawn designs scamper about, as they are believed to protect the dragon as it proceeds through the street.

The Pujiang dragon dance incorporates elements of other folk art forms, such as traditional Chinese painting, calligraphy, papercuts and folk dances. It helps keep the dragon sacrificial beliefs originating in coastal eastern China alive. The country’s advances and globalization are an indisputable threat to this folk custom. But measures are to be taken to preserve and maintain this organic art treasure.