In many villages (communities) across Zhongshan, such as Changzhou, Zhangxi, Haotou and Qiwan, there are traditional customs of holding dragon and lion dance parades around lunar April 8 (which falls on May 15 this year) every year to pray for good weather and bumper harvests. On May 12, Haotou Village in Torch Development Zone and Zhangxi Village in Shiqi District held the parades in advance.

▲After the parade, the long dragon is put in an ancestral hall in Haotou Village and waits for the parade next year. (Photo by Sun Junjun)

▲On May 12, Haotou Village holds a dragon and lion dance parade. (Photo by Sun Junjun)

▲A "golden dragon" parades around the traffic roundabout. (Photo by Gai Liubao)

▲The wooden dragon dance parade. (Photo by Sun Junjun)

▲The golden dragon dance parade. (Photo by Sun Junjun)

▲On May 12, a dragon-raising ceremony is held in Zhangxi Village, Shiqi District. Villagers use ladles and buckets to drain the water from the dragon boats so that they could surface. (Photo by Miao Xiaojian)

▲Villagers use cleaning cloths to clean the silt on the boats. (Photo by Miao Xiaojian)

▲The dragon boats that have been asleep for a year are awakened for the upcoming dragon boat race. A water-splashing battle comes first! (Photo by Miao Xiaojian)