Also carnivals

Despite the primitive forms and meticulously detailed procedures, dragon-related rituals and events are also carnivals for many people in Hunan, said Sun.

In the Xuefeng Mountains region of central western Hunan, a 10-day dragon lantern festival starting from Spring Festival allows the widest participation from locals.

In the region, almost every family has dragon dancers and every village has dragon lantern shows.

The incense dragon dance in Rucheng county is also a spectacular show.

In rural Hunan, the dragon dance during Spring Festival is the year's most important ritual and largest entertainment event.

In the evening of the Lantern Festival, performers present the dragon with many incense sticks on its body and spectators are encouraged to use torches to light them. The dragon will inevitably catch on fire and performers will continue their dance until the dragon turns into ash.

The plank dragon show in Tanhe town, Cili county is much loved by the local Tujia ethnic people.

Also celebrated in the Lantern Festival, the event features lanterns put on wooden planks.

When evening comes villagers and their hand-made lantern boards meet in the streets of the town, where the planks are connected to form a long "dragon". The dragon parade can be several hundred meters long, attracting tens of thousands of spectators from Tanhe and neighboring areas.

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