Lan Heng (left) performs changshanlong, a traditional Miao folk dance, with his fellow villagers in Sizhai, a remote Miao village in Southwest China's Guizhou province, on Jan 17. Provided to China Daily

An ethnic dance unique to a remote Miao village has been off limits to outsiders for more than 1,000 years.

Until now.

As the inheritor of a tradition handed down for 35 generations, Lan Heng has made it his mission to teach the dance to those beyond the village's borders to keep it alive.

"Several decades ago, only two successors were allowed to learn this folk dance in the village for each generation," Lan said.

He is one of them.

In recent years, however, that rule has been broken and now about 20 villagers in Gusa, in Southwest China's Guizhou province, have mastered the dance.

"My late father taught me how to dance and he warned me not to leak this folk art out of the village," the 35-year-old said.

Changshanlong is a traditional Miao folk dance performed on the 31st day after China's Lunar New Year's day, when the whole village carries out a spring-cleaning and shuts down.

"Any guest from outside Gusa is not welcomed when we perform the dance," he said.

Residents in Gusa are from one of the Miao branches who believe their ancestor is Heimanlong, a general who pledged his loyalty to Yue Fei, a legendary Han marshal who fought the Jurchens' invasion during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

After Yue Fei died for his nation, the sad Miao general stopped eating and died of starvation.

The sacrificial ceremony, in which a cow is slaughtered, is held in honor of him.

The performers wear locally-made black costumes, put on makeup and dress up as dragons, dancing in rhythm while playing a reed pipe, a Miao traditional musical instrument.

"The dance has eight basic choreographic movements to copy the dragon's move, but since the number of performers can be from one to more than a thousand, there are hundreds of group moves," said Lan, adding it is quite a complicated dance.

Since the year 2007, some 200 junior-grade students have been learning from Lan at school.

"As a folk class, it is a required course rather than optional," he said.

"I'm the first and only teacher delivering changshanlong to students," said Lan, the pride showing on his face.

In 2006, the dance was designated a national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, helping Lan obtain a permanent position at the school.