Folks in Huangshan celebrate Longtaitou Festival

The traditional Chinese Longtaitou Festival, or Dragon-Head-Raising Festival, falls on the second day of the second lunar month, symbolizing the start of spring and the annual farming cycle. This year it took place on February 21.

Folks in Shuyuan village – administered by Qiankou town in Huangshan city, Anhui province – celebrated the festival with a dragon dance performance.

The 12-meter-long dragon is made of straw and carries local farmers' wishes for a good harvest and good weather for their crops.

Folks in Shuyuan village, Huangshan city celebrate the Longtaitou Festival with a dragon dance performance. [Photo/xuexi.cn]

Longtaitou, which refers to the rising of a dragon's head, and is celebrated on the second day of the second lunar month, marks the beginning of a new round of farming activities. [Photo/xuexi.cn]

Huangshan residents celebrate the Longtaitou Festival with handheld dragons made of straw. [Photo/xuexi.cn]