Li Firewood Dance

In the Li language the firewood dance is called zhuansha or taisha; it arose from the funerary customs of the Li people of old Yazhou (present-day Sanya), and is among the most representative and the oldest of Li dance forms, performed mostly at funeral rites to honour the dead. It entered the first national ICH list in 2006 under traditional dance.

The dance has its own complete set of instruments and steps: two long pillow logs are laid parallel on the ground with several pairs of short sticks laid across them, and dancers leap and weave between the opening and closing sticks, the movement vigorous and forceful with a powerful rhythm, often to the accompaniment of gong and drum.

The firewood dance carries the old funerary beliefs and collective memory of the Li people, and is vital living evidence for the study of Li social life, ritual customs and the origins of their dance, hailed as a "living fossil" of Li traditional culture.

Performances of the firewood dance can be seen in Li villages around Sanya and at scenic spots such as The Romantic Show of Sanya, where visitors are often invited to join the bamboo-pole dance.