Qiaolin, the firework dragon
Eight in the evening on the tenth of the first month, at the Qiaodong custom square in Qiaodong village, Pandong, Jiedong, Jieyang: men stripped to the waist and wearing bamboo hats run the ground holding a fire-breathing dragon — the mouth spitting flame, the body throwing sparks, fireworks pouring down from the tail. This is called burning the dragon, and it is the peak of Qiaolin’s season: from the first to the fifth of the month the dragon only walks and dances, and on the tenth it burns. National heritage item III-4, second batch, 2008.
On rights. The dragon-dance photograph is used with the author’s permission, credited to Cai Zijing; the other four are of the burning on the night of the tenth of the first month in 2023, from posts by the Douyin photographer @心晓_Xinxiao, used only to introduce this session and withdrawn if the author asks. The photographer’s watermark at the lower left of the originals is left uncropped.
1. Three parts: walking, dancing, burning
It is not the work of one night. From the first of the month the village holds the walking and the dancing of the dragon, through to the fifth; the burning is on the night of the tenth. The three are one whole, and arriving only for the tenth means seeing the last part of it.
In 2026 the burning was lit a little after eight in the evening on 26 February, the tenth of the first month, with several fire dragons coming on one after another. The ground is fixed: the Qiaodong custom square.
| Year | Lunar date | Gregorian |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 10th of the 1st month | 15 February 2027, Monday |
| 2028 | 10th of the 1st month | 4 February 2028, Friday |
| 2029 | 10th of the 1st month | 22 February 2029, Thursday |
| 2030 | 10th of the 1st month | 12 February 2030, Tuesday |
| 2031 | 10th of the 1st month | 1 February 2031, Saturday |
The Gregorian column is a calendar conversion, with the new moon as the start of the month and Beijing time, and does not mean it will be held that way. No announcement for 2027 or later has been seen, so the dates stand on past practice.
2. How a dragon is made
The dragon is made in the village, not bought. In 2026 they began buying bamboo and weaving the frame at the start of December, then loaded the powder and painted it, more than two months in all; the dance team trained for two months alongside.
The scale is set each year: in 2026 there were twelve carp, two phoenixes and two dragons. Painted phoenixes and carp on the same ground as the fire dragons are the fixed pairing of this session.
The bearers are bare-chested in bamboo hats. The pearl leads at the front, the head charges with the file behind it, the mouth spits flame, the body throws sparks, the tail pours fireworks like a waterfall — the line in the reports, that the men dance inside the fire while the dragon flies in the sky, is about that instant.
3. Rules and avoidances
A member of the 2026 team put it plainly: women may watch, but may not touch the dragon. That is the village’s avoidance, not a rule of the organisers.
The team is getting younger. In the same team the head position is taken by a young man of the village, the members call themselves the young team, and the leader said they trained for more than two months for this one night.
4. Why the name carries Qiaolin
Qiaolin is the name of the district, taking in Qiaonan, Qiaoxi and Qiaodong among others; the burning is held at Qiaodong. “Qiaolin firework dragon” is the name of the item, “Qiaodong” the name of the ground, and the two are not the same thing.
The lists: national, code III-4, second batch, 2008, nominated by Jieyang city, Guangdong; for the hierarchy, follow the heritage lists.
Getting there: the nearest station is Chaoshan, for Pandong in Rongcheng, then a car to the Qiaodong custom square; the crowd disperses after ten, so settle the way back first. In festival time village roads often run one way or are closed at short notice, and a navigation estimate excludes parking and the walk in; a night session often ends after nine, and the way back should be checked against the year’s timetable rather than reasoned from past experience.
5. Where to stand
Two layers: how past reporting describes it, and where this site suggests standing. The lines and controls for the year are set that year by the organisers and the authorities.
As past reporting describes it. In 2026 the Qiaodong village committee and the Qiaolin public welfare association coordinated it; the Pandong subdistrict filed in advance, drew up a plan and an emergency plan, produced a traffic guide map and brought in fire, medical and security staff; spectators entered in order. The reports give no specific viewing distance.
An editorial note. Sparks scatter widely: stand upwind and leave a margin from the dragon’s line; wear long sleeves and trousers in cotton, not synthetics or down; a hat is steadier than an umbrella. These are suggestions made here from standing at such sessions, not the guidance of a fire or emergency management department. The fifteen metres often quoted for Qiaolin is a figure estimated here, not a rule.
6. One disagreement over age
All accounts agree it began in the Ming, but not on how long ago: Guangdong TV writes six hundred years and more, Jieyang Daily five hundred and more. A century apart, and both are given.
7. Sources
| Source | Body | Date | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| “The firework dragon leaps, dancing out the spirit of the horse” | Nanfang Daily, front page | 27 February 2026 | the night of the tenth; Qiaodong village; over ten thousand people; the three parts; beginning in the Ming; the five-hundred-year account |
| The same report | Guangdong provincial government portal | 27 February 2026 | an official reprint of that report, usable for cross-checking |
| “A day of Jieyang’s beauty: the fire dragon dancing, light and colour streaming” | Jieyang Daily (reprinted by Tencent News) | 27 February 2026 | the Qiaodong custom square; the phoenixes and carp; bare chests and bamboo hats; the subdistrict’s filing and emergency plan; the avoidance about women not touching the dragon |
| “Fire dancing, dragon leaping, a new year welcomed; heritage in colour at Qiaodong” | Guangdong TV | 27 February 2026 | lighting a little after eight; six hundred years and more; the national listing in 2008; twelve carp, two phoenixes, two dragons; the two months of making |
All four can be opened; the six-hundred and five-hundred accounts stand side by side and are not merged.
8. What comes next
In lunar order: before it, Yuepu, the coming of age and the pig contest on the eighth; after it, Dachanglong, the lantern greeting on the fourteenth and fifteenth. Also in Jieyang are the Yangmei torch festival on the sixth, Xidong, leaping the fire pits and the Jieyang City God temple fair.
Elsewhere on the site: ying lao ye: its form and the village days, the heritage lists, Jieyang routes.
Back to the Chaoshan procession calendar for all twenty-three sessions.
Home › Customs › The procession calendar › Qiaolin, the firework dragon
Last revised: 4 November 2026