Kaohsiung - Lion Dance Festival

Sishijia is located northwest to the Cianjhen District of Kaohsiung. It was the lion dance village of Dajhu Li in as early as the Qing Dynasty. Due to its geographical location surrounded by the ocean, it was often invaded by pirates in early days. Therefore, when farming work was not so busy, each family liked to use the dustpan as the lion head to entertain themselves and others as well as practice marshal arts in Song Jiang array to train themselves to fight against the rampant pirates.
　　 There is another saying that a lion dance array formed by the young people of a tribe was leading in the folklore skills industry. Whenever the thirteen village leaders in the Dagou area held god receiving competitions, the lion dance array was always leading the group moving forward. Therefore, the area was called Sishijia (Lion Dance Area), which literally means “lion dance array leading other groups”.
　　 Guangji Temple was established as early as when Cheng-Kong Cheng first moved to Taiwan and escorted Emperor of Baosheng as the host god. Since its establishment, it has been the center of belief for local people and one of the most popular areas for residents to gather. In early days, residents often made a lion with the dustpan and performed the lion dance on the square of Guantji Temple for entertainment. It was then gradually developed to become the lion dance culture exclusively to the region. Therefore, whenever it is the god’s birthday or during certain holidays and festivals, local residents will gather to perform the lion dance along the street to celebrate.
　　Local culture can often reflect the soul and content of a city and promote inter-regional exchanges and interactions. Kaohsiung City Government has been emphasizing community characteristics in recent years and tried its best to make them known to others. The Lion Dance Festival is exactly an event born in this thought.