With drums beating and gongs striking, a pair of “giant loongs” leap up and dance to the cheerful traditional suona music, as if they were real creatures. They are sometimes soaring into the sky and flying among clouds, and sometimes diving into the sea and swimming against the fierce winds and colossal waves, gaining applause of visitors on the square in front of the Hall of Great Affairs of Shenyang Imperial Palace. It is a performance of Zhang’s Huangyuan Loong Dance, which is well-known in Shenyang City of Liaoning Province.

With a history of more than 300 years, the techniques of Zhang’s Huangyuan Loong Dance can be traced back to the reigns of emperors Qianlong and Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty. It is said that the ancestors of its inheritors once performed the loong dance in the imperial palace for the royal family, so the dance was given the name “Huangyuan Loong Dance”, which means a loong dance performed in the imperial garden.

Compared with loong dances in other places, Zhang’s Huangyuan Loong Dance has many unique features. The body of the loong used in the performance is much longer and heavier, with a whole length of about 25 meters and a total weight of 100 kilograms. The colors of the loong are more gorgeous, and the dance is more imposing.

Nowadays, the techniques of Zhang’s Huangyuan Loong Dance have been passed down to the 17th generation of the Zhang’s family. Thanks to the perseverance of the 17 generations, Zhang’s Huangyuan Loong Dance has been performed on the land of Liaoning for over 300 years and is still popular among the common people.