An ancient Chinese dance on the verge of disappearing may have gotten a serious boost from a viral video. Last week, content creator “Nanxiang Bu Ai Chifan” made waves with a video recording his experience learning the Tanhua dance (炭花舞, tànhuā wǔ) in Longhui, Hunan province. A Bilibili video blogger who has millions of followers, he spent more than a month in a remote village studying the local traditional dance, which was listed as part of China’s “Intangible Cultural Heritage” in 2009. In less than a week’s time, the video attracted more than 6.7 million views on Bilibili alone, and his story has spread across other social media platforms as well.

The Tanhua dance is an art form that demands perfect coordination and close communication, as it is performed by a duo. The dancers light up pine and chestnut bark as fuel, placed within two small cages woven from iron wire. These cages, connected by a rope, are tied to the ends of a long bamboo stick. By swinging the stick, the duo creates otherworldly sparks that almost look like something created by futuristic technology. In ancient times the Tanhua dance was a merely a method of illumination for nighttime hunts, but it was more widely adopted in the Tang Dynasty, and became part of local dragon dance traditions. The Tanhua dance has been continually practiced since then, but is now facing extinction due to a lack of interest from younger people in Longhui.

The Tanhua dance is one of many pieces of “Intangible Cultural Heritage” that are slowly disappearing in rural China. In this context, influencers and content creators are playing a key role in educating young people about these traditional cultural practices. Reflecting upon his experience, Nanxiang Bu Ai Chifan feels perplexed by the lack of interest in the dance. Nonetheless, he believes that something can be done. “If no one wants to come here and see the dance,” he said, “I will bring the dance to the world.”

Banner image via Xiaoxiang Chenbao.