Moving to the drum pavilions' beat
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The annual parade of drum pavilions held during Latern Festival in Qiantong village in 2013.Villagers use the celebrations as an opportunity to extend good wishes for happy families and a prosperous future. Zhang Yongtao/ for China Daily |
Xujiashan and Qiantong are two ancient mountainous villages with rich cultural heritage in Ninghai county, Zhejiang province.
During Lantern Festival, celebrated in the first month of the traditional Chinese calendar, revelers head to Qiantong village to watch the annual parade of drum pavilions.
Decorated with drums, the pavilions seem more like large sedan chairs carried by five to eight men.
Children wearing local traditional opera costumes and makeup sit on top of the five-meter-high pavilions. It is considered to be a great honor to take part in the parade. Only children whose parents and grandparents are all alive get chosen. They represent happy families and the prosperous future of the village.
The village also has a museum to display the 20 main drum pavilions which locals use for the celebrations.
During the parade, each pavilion will be followed by 50 to 100 people, who play instruments including drums and cymbals. Every pavilion has a name and a story. The "Master Pavilion" tells a story of Fang Xiaoru, a famous scholar and teacher from Ninghai in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The wood carving and painting on the pavilion's seven levels show important aspects of Fang's life, such as when he tutored students including princes.
