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Press Releases (Foreign Press Releases)

August 25, 2026

188

Haiyang sits on the southern tip of the Jiaodong Peninsula, under the
administration of Yantai city, Shandong province. Endowed with majestic
mountains and a scenic coastline, the city derives its name from its
location north of the Yellow Sea. In 1398, the Ming government
established Dasong Garrison in present-day Haiyang, Shandong. In 1425,
to celebrate Commander Zhao Tong, who concurrently served as Zhenfu
(Military Supervisor), having five generations living under one roof,
Dasong Garrison integrated elegant classical music with local folk dance
traditions to create the Big Yangko Dance dance. The performance
debuted officially on the day an imperial gold plaque inscribed with Qiye
Yanxiang (Seven Leaves Spreading Auspiciousness) was unveiled. From
then on, Haiyang Big Yangko Dance began to thrive.

Over six centuries, Haiyang Big Yangko Dance has taken root amid the
city's mountains, coastline and local customs. It has gradually evolved
into a well-established dance system, embodying a folk art style that is
powerful and uninhibited, robust and dynamic, and yet equally festive,
lively, and vibrant.

Haiyang Big Yangko Dance brings the DNA of this intangible cultural
heritage to life through its vivid Nine Major Roles. These nine characters
act as living folk symbols and grassroots cultural envoys, embodying the
honest local ethos through their physical performances. Apart from the
nine leading roles, supporting performers, known as miscellaneous
players in Haiyang Big Yangko Dance, portray figures such as donkeys,
land boats, opera characters and mythical figures. Their improvisational
acts add richer narrative layers to Big Yangko Dance performances.
"No Big Yangko Dance, no Spring Festival." This local saying

epitomizes the cultural identity of Haiyang people."Big Yangko Dance
fills the first lunar month celebrations with play, the second with bustle,
and lingers playfully into the third. "Big Yangko Dance ushers in spring"
has become a vital way for locals to express festive joy and strengthen
community bonds during Chinese New Year. This is far more than a
simple folk performance; it embodies the community's gratitude and
reverence for the ocean—a belief deeply ingrained in the lifeblood of
Jiaodong fishing communities.

Haiyang is renowned as the Home of Chinese Folk Art. Haiyang Big
Yangko Dance enjoys national acclaim and is recognized as one of the
three major Big Yangko Dance styles in Shandong. In 2006, it was
inscribed on the first batch of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage
List, evolving into a cultural tourism attraction and a hallmark of
Haiyang's external promotion. The year 2024 marked another milestone
for Haiyang Big Yangko Dance: It clinched the Shanhua Award, the
highest honor in Chinese folk art.

Like a brilliant cultural pearl, Haiyang Big Yangko Dance radiates the
civilizational brilliance of generations of Haiyang people, heralding their
aspirations for an even better life.