At a cultural activities center in Yongchang county, Gansu province, Zhao Jihai moves with crisp precision during a performance of a rare folk tradition that blends martial arts and choreography. It's called the Jiezi Dance, and it has been passed down for more than 2,000 years.

An inheritor of this provincial-level intangible cultural heritage, the 70-year-old Zhao explained that the dance is neither acrobatics nor a modern fitness exercise, but a living expression of local history. Believed to date back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), the Jiezi Dance evolved from ancient military formations and combat training before becoming a celebratory folk performance.

Yongchang was once a strategic gateway along the ancient Silk Road. Frequent warfare in the past fostered a strong martial spirit among local communities, which later found expression in folk traditions such as the Jiezi Dance. According to local legend, a general surnamed Zhao invented the dance to train soldiers.

Performers stage the Jiezi Dance during the opening ceremony of a winter sports competition in Yongchang county, Gansu province. [Photo by Hu Yumeng/chinadaily.com.cn]

The dance takes its name from the jiezi, a wooden stick. It measures 24 cun (about 80 centimeters) in length, representing the 24 solar terms, while four holes carved into it symbolize the four seasons. Twelve copper coins threaded through the holes stand for the months of the year. They produce a distinctive jingling sound during the dance.

Zhao began learning the dance in the 1960s and started performing publicly after the reform and opening-up period in the late 1970s. Today, groups of varying size dressed as ancient warriors move in shifting formations, combining forceful movements with collective discipline.

For younger performers such as Chai Pengli, born in 1993, the Jiezi Dance remains a familiar part of local festival life. To ensure its survival, local cultural authorities are considering introducing the dance into school physical education programs to help the ancient tradition continue with a new generation.