Lanzhou’s folk customs

The Taiping Drum

The blue sky, white clouds and loess soil are beautiful. The men on the plateau beat the Taiping Drum. Thunderbolts resounded thousands of miles away, and clouds from the Five Continents rose under their feet.

This poem makes people seem to hear the earth-shattering sound of the Lanzhou Taiping Drum, see the cheerful and vigorous posture of the drum beaters, and feel the overwhelming momentum. Lanzhou Taiping Drum has distinctive regional characteristics and a long history. According to legend, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, unified the world and became emperor. Only the general of the Yuan Dynasty, Kao Kuo Tiemu'er, resisted in Lanzhou. Zhu Yuanzhang was very angry. In the eleventh year of Hongwu, he sent general Xu Da to attack the expanded Tiemu'er. However, the city of Lanzhou was in danger and could not be conquered for a long time. A counselor came up with an idea: "It's the Spring Festival now, and people in the northwest love to play with social fire. Why not have some soldiers disguise themselves as common people, and some as people playing with social fire, sneak into the city, and cooperate inside and outside to capture Lanzhou City." Xu Da According to the plan, the end drum was changed into a long drum and hidden in the knife drum. During the Lantern Festival, people pretend to be soldiers, carrying long drums on their backs, walking and playing, and sneak into the city. Early the next morning, Xu Da sent an order to attack the city. Suddenly, drums and horns sounded, and the sound of killing was loud. As soon as Temur'er went up to the tower, he heard a sudden sound of cannons, the city gates opened wide, and the city fell. Zhu Yuanzhang unified China and believed that Duangu had made great contributions and brought peace to the world, so he named it "Taiping Drum". In recent years, Lanzhou Taiping Drum has been invited to participate in large-scale celebrations such as the Asian Games, welcoming the return of Hong Kong, and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China many times, and has been praised as "the best drum in the world".

Peach Blossom Fair

The Peach Blossom Fair is held grandly in Taoyuan, Anning District every April when the peach blossoms are in full bloom. This event has been held every year since the first Peach Blossom Fair held by the Lanzhou Municipal People's Government in 1984. In addition to outings and flower appreciation, tourists can also visit a variety of cultural and artistic activities, calligraphy and painting exhibitions, economic and trade negotiations, etc.

Taoyuan District, Anning District starts from Liujiapu in the east and ends at Shajingyi in the west. It stretches for 15 kilometers and covers an area of ??more than 8,000 acres. There are more than 300,000 peach trees of 184 varieties, including late water peaches, purple peaches, The most famous varieties include Jinghong peach, Zaoxiangyu peach, white pink peach, semi-dry peach, Li peach water honey, and June peach. Peach trees are native to northwest China and have a history of more than 3,000 years. (Xijing Miscellaneous Notes) records: "When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty first built Shanglin Garden, the officials presented fresh fruits, including fine walnuts, purple-striped peaches, and Jincheng peaches." Jincheng peach is the late water peach produced in Anning Taoyuan, which shows that Lanzhou has produced fresh peaches for at least two thousand years. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Lanzhou's burnt peaches were listed as tribute. Lanzhou fresh peaches have bright fruits, fine and pink flesh, sweet and juicy taste, rich in fat, protein, fruit acid and various minerals and vitamins. They are top-grade peaches. Eating them for a long time can prolong your life.

Lanzhou’s Anning Taoyuan has been a gathering place for flower viewing since the Qing Dynasty. At that time, most of the flower-viewers were talented people, beauties and dignitaries. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, De Fu once wrote a poem about Luobo River in Lanzhou: "I remember Lanzhou well, and I am proud of its abundant fruits in spring. The lights are shining in three cities, and the colors are scattered all over the city. The green trees encourage the singing boards, and the fragrant dust chases the brocade cars. The green and green On Fangcao Road, wine curtains are slanting everywhere." During the Ming Dynasty, with the increase in residents and the improvement of transportation in this area, Anning Peach Blossoms became visible to the public. Li Shaoling's poem goes: "There are clusters of flowers in front of and behind the mountains, and people in and outside the garden are like jade. Every household is busy looking at the flowers, but there is not enough to see the beautiful faces of the people." During the flowering season, the peach blossoms are as gorgeous as brocade, just like the red clouds falling from the sky, and the scenery is so beautiful.

Spring Festival Shehuo

During the Spring Festival, the social fire performances on the streets of Lanzhou are unique. Generally starting around the tenth day of the first lunar month, farmers' social fire teams organized by various districts and counties gather in the city center and line up in different shapes. They dance along the main street and beat gongs and drums, creating a lively and spectacular scene. When walking to Dongfanghong Square, many people form a circle and perform for tourists and citizens. The Shehuo performance can last until around the Lantern Festival.

The performances of the Lanzhou Shehuo Team are rich and colorful. The most eye-catching is the stilt team. They wear costumes, hold knives and guns, dress up as dramatic characters, and stand on wooden stilts more than four feet high. Walking and dancing to the beat of gongs and drums. The iron core is also ingenious and uses cleverness to win. They dressed up children with delicate features and lithe bodies as dramatic characters, forming a series of dramas. The children tied high to the iron core moved slowly along with the carrying vehicle. The most spectacular thing is the Taiping Drum Corps. The drummers beat the drums rhythmically and jumped up and down according to the president's banner, and the sound of the drums was exciting.

The lion dance is mainly about watching the neat fists and kicks of the samurai when he teases the lion with the hydrangea. Lanzhou Spring Festival Shehuo also includes land boats, wheelbarrows and bamboo horses. Programs such as Big Head Arhat and Liu Cui. The team often leads the way with "Wind Mother", which is the image of "Wind Aunt" corresponding to "Rain Master". In mythology, it is the god of rain caused by wind and rain. Its shape is similar to Caidan, extremely ugly, with red peppers hanging from its earlobes. , holding a fan in one hand and holding a diamond-shaped plaster flag with "Good Weather" written on it in the other, twisting it around with exaggerated and comical movements. It is hilarious and expresses people's mood and desire to pray for good weather and a stable harvest.