When two meet, only the braver one wins - the 2021 “King of the Ring” Championship was kicked off at Wong Fei-hung Dance Marital Arts Hall in Xiqiao Mountain on April 10th.

Spectacular lion dance game

The first day of rivalry came between two strong teams - Guangzhou Yagang Lion Dance Sports Association (广州市鸦岗龙狮体育会) and Nanhai Wong Fei-hung Martial Arts Lion Dance Team (南海黄飞鸿武术龙狮团) . After a simple but solemn lion greeting ceremony, the two energetic teams took the stage by turns to show off a great complexity of movements and postures – lifting, jumping on high wooden piles, and rolling, flipping on the ground. These well-trained dancers have well-presented all the characters that can be concluded from Foshan lion dance, that is, confident, vigorous, and flexible.

Lion greeting ceremony

Guangzhou Yagang Lion Dance Sports Association won a round of applause by striking highly challenging moves on “Fei-hung Seven-stands piles”

Wong Fei-hung Martial Arts Lion Dance Team showed a great complexity of movements and postures

PK match between the two teams

After exciting high-piles performance, there came the showdown – a PK match that entails tons of demanding moves for the two teams-- high danced in front of the bench, rolled to the left and right 180°, jumped back 180° on the bench twice, etc. The teams completed all the moves as quickly as they could and the faster one won.

After a head-to-head, Wong Fei-hung Martial Arts Lion Dance Team was announced to be the winner of the day.

The audience seemed to never stop clapping their hands during the performances. When the dancers were doing challenging, yet a bit dangerous, moves on feet-high piles, the audience couldn’t helping sweating, holding hands with pounding hearts before they cheered up again for another perfect move by the two teams.

Certificates presented to the two teams

International Scoring System and New Interactive Ways

This year, the contest was conducted in strict compliance to standards from international lion dance sports competitions - "prepared performance: high-piles lion dance + international lion dance events: bench PK" - to decide the winner. The organizer sought to present the game with an athletic sense that could be well-received among local audiences.

Meanwhile, an online prize-winning campaign, "Who is the King of the Ring", was also launched for audience. Viewers can scan the QR code to submit their predictions of the game and vote for their best team. Those who got the right prediction will get a chance to win a package of souvenirs by Xiqiao Mountain Scenic Spot.

Strengthen Foshan "lion dance" as a national treasure

As a landmark for rich history and profound culture in Nanhai District, Xiqiao Mountain has hosted the Wong Fei-hung Championship for a decade in a row, a featured cultural event that was rooted in lion dance art and martial arts. Not only is it well-known in China, but also gained great international influence.

Up next, Xiqiao Mountain plans to upgrade Wong Fei-hung Dance Marital Arts Hall, as a way to boost its tourism growth, build a platform for exchanges and competitions of lion dance and make preparations for the coming “Wong Fei-hung National Lion Dance Competition”.

Guideline for upcoming games

The rest of the dates were scheduled to every weekend in April (11th, 17th, 18th, 24th, 25th) with two games per day (10:30 am and 14:30 pm). Winning teams will compete for the first prize "King of the Ring" at Tianhu Park of Xiqiao Mountain.

Author | Jersey
Revisor | Jessica, Eleanor
Photo & Video | Official Wechat Account of "西樵山"