Performers from across China put their cultures on display at National Yangko Exhibition

Performers stage the Hengshan Old-style Waist Drum Dance in a street in Yulin, Shaanxi province, on Feb 13. LI XUJIA/SHAANXI DAILY

For each of their shows, from the Chinese Battle Dance to the Victory Waist Drum Dance, folk artists dressed in glowing costumes using multicolored props such as fans, handkerchiefs, stilts and dragons as they performed at the National Yangko Exhibition to celebrate Chinese New Year in Yulin, Shaanxi province, from Feb 13 to 24.

Folk artists perform the Yingshang Flower Drum Lantern Dance from Anhui province in Yulin on Feb 13, during the National Yangko Exhibition. LI XUJIA/SHAANXI DAILY

The exhibition, the first of its kind in China, featured 35 performance teams with nearly 3,000 participants from nine provincial-level regions. It was organized by the city in northern Shaanxi on the Loess Plateau and supported by national and provincial-level cultural and tourism authorities.

Artists from the Chaoshan region in Guangdong province perform the Yingge Dance on Feb 13.  LI XUJIA/SHAANXI DAILY

Yangko is a collective term describing the art form of folk group singing and dancing in formation across China that was mostly influenced by farmers who would sing and dance as they worked in ancient times.

Artists from a local yangko troupe stage a show on Feb 13. LI XUJIA/SHAANXI DAILY

With exuberant gestures, tight rhythms, and festive music and a celebratory vibe, the performances are often put on during festive occasions such as Spring Festival.

Spectators interact with "lions" of a lion dance troupe from Guangdong province on Feb 13. LI XUJIA/SHAANXI DAILY

After centuries of development, various types of yangko thrived across the country, characterized by the adoption of local props, musical instruments and folk storytelling.