Chinese Dragon, New Year Celebrations on Princess Street

Image: © David Dixon Taken: 7 Feb 2016

The dragon dance is performed during Chinese New Year celebrations. Chinese dragons are a symbol of China, and they are believed to possess qualities that include great power, dignity, fertility, wisdom and auspiciousness. According to legend, the dragon has to chase the pearl of wisdom. The pearl effectively controls the dragon, so wherever the pearl goes, the dragon follows. The story goes that every time it is just about to catch it, it gets away. The dance is performed by a team of dancers who manipulate a long flexible figure of a dragon using poles positioned at regular intervals along the length of the dragon. The appearance of a dragon is both fearsome and bold but it has a benevolent disposition and is believed to bring good luck to people, therefore the longer the dragon in the dance, the more luck it will bring to the community. This one (which was reportedly the longest dragon in Europe at 175ft http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/ng-interactive/2016/feb/08/chinese-new-year-manchester-photo-essay ) was built around bamboo poles for the runners to hold, with bamboo and rattan cages forming the main body and a spine running down the centre topped with cardboard cones. There are 23 cages doubled up so there are 46 runners, with five or six more to manage the head, and extras to control the pearl.

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