On April 22nd in 2023, the Piaose Parade, which has been absent for three years, was held in the Shawan Ancient Town in Panyu District, Guangzhou City.

Piaose is a traditional folk art in the Lingnan region that combines drama, magic, acrobatics, music, and dance.Performers perform folk legends or mythological stories on a small stage called "segui" in the form of a parade. With the help of mechanical knowledge, performers stand in mid-air with well-disguised steel rods as if they were floating.

Well-known in the southern Guangdong region, the Parade is a feature folk activity held almost every year in Shawan Ancient Town. However, unlike previous ones, this year's is grander. As of 5 pm on the 22nd, the event has already received over 41,000 visitors.

The Shawan Piaose Association has contributed the two most impressive Piaose works: The Flooding of Jinshan Temple and Sounds of Nature.

The Flooding of Jinshan Temple, which is based on the Cantonese opera Legend of the White Snake, is composed of four performers as Fahai, Xu Xian, White Snake, and Green Snake. The overall height of the performance exceeds 3 meters, and the disguise is also quite exquisite.

A parade consisting of 6 folk cultural teams and 26 Piaose works attracted a large number of visitors, and the folk cultural teams actively interacted with visitors on both sides of the road. According to the introduction, there was also a traditional "team with vase" in the parade, which consists of children holding a flower-made vase filled with water. Accompanied by their family members, children walked and sprinkle "holy water" to the crowd with leaves of Wampee to symbolize the blessing.

As the only national-level historical and cultural town in Guangzhou, Shawan has rich cultural resources, well-preserved ancient buildings, and unique artworks such as sculptures and murals. During this event, the "Overseas Chinese International Cultural Exchange Base" in Shawan Ancient Town was officially unveiled. At the same time, the event "Shawan Ancient Town Food Tour in 2023 – Exploring Traditional Shawan" was also officially launched, welcoming visitors to experience the culture of Shawan and Lingnan customs.

阔别三年，飘色巡游重回广州番禺古镇沙湾

4月22日（农历三月初三），2023年沙湾街“弘扬传统文化·传承非遗经典”文化活动在沙湾古镇玉虚宫前正式启动，阔别三年的沙湾飘色巡游在广州市番禺区沙湾古镇沿线举行。

作为南粤地区知名的飘色巡游活动，沙湾飘色巡游是沙湾古镇几乎每年都举办的特色民俗活动，不过与往年不同的是，今年的沙湾飘色巡游在规模上更为盛大。截至22日下午5时，活动接待游客超过4.1万人次。

沙湾飘色协会贡献出了最为重磅的两板大型飘色作品《水漫金山》以及《天籁之音》。取材自粤剧《白蛇传》的飘色作品《水漫金山》共由四位“色仔”“色女”组成，分别装扮成法海、许仙、白蛇、青蛇的形象，作品整体高度超过3米，人物造型也颇为精致。

6个民俗文化特色方阵以及26板飘色作品组成的巡游队伍吸引了大量市民参观，民俗文化方阵也积极与道路两侧的市民进行互动。据介绍，巡游队伍中还有传统的“净瓶队”，向沿路的参观市民淋洒象征好运的“圣水”。

作为广州市唯一的国家级历史文化名镇，沙湾文化资源丰富，古建保存完好，雕塑、壁画等艺术作品颇具特色。本次活动，沙湾古镇“中国华侨国际文化交流基地”正式揭牌。同时，“沙湾古镇有席——2023畅游美食古镇·寻味传统沙湾”活动也正式启动，欢迎游客前来寻味沙湾，感受岭南民俗。

文｜羊城晚报全媒体记者 范晗越
图、视频｜羊城晚报全媒体记者 邓勃 曾育文
视频剪辑｜羊城晚报全媒体记者 张惠鑫 黎杰文
校对｜赵丹丹
责编｜王瑜瑛