CCTV News: Lion dance is a traditional folk sports and art form in my country. It is mainly divided into two major sects: Northern lion and Southern lion. Southern lion, also known as the waking lion, is widely circulated in southern coastal provinces in my country. On February 3, the special program "Reunion between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, I celebrate the New Year in the Mainland", we went to meet a lion-drawn master from Taiwan - Lai Yifan. During this year's Spring Festival, Lai Yifan celebrated the New Year in his wife's hometown Zunyi, Guizhou, and also took his Tongxin Dragon and Lion War Drum Team to participate in a series of local performances.

The lion wake is the shining pearl of Chinese culture, carrying an inseparable national complex. The movements of lion dance should be agile, powerful, agile and flexible; the lion dancers should cultivate integrity and care about their family and country.

"I am Lai Yifan, born in Yilan County, Taiwan Province in 1988. In 2020, after my wife and I got married, I accompanied her to my hometown in Suiyang County, Zunyi City. With the support of the local government, I began to accept disciples and teach my skills and formed the Tongxin Dragon and Lion War Drum Team. Now, the team is already well-known in Zunyi. Whether it is the company's annual meetings or folk wedding birthday celebrations, we often invite us to dance lions on site. As the Spring Festival approaches, we have to perform almost every day."

Lai Yifan was born in a lion wake family. Since he can remember, his father Lai Congyun has taught lion wake courses in schools in Yilan and Taipei, and often performs in Taiwan. Lai Yifan was deeply fascinated by lion dancing since childhood. When he was nine years old, he formally became his father as his teacher. In the next ten years, his father had been strict with him, allowing him to develop a strong physique and perseverance, and also allowing him to slowly understand his father's good intentions.

"At that time, my father said something that inheritance cannot be broken. He said that this road is not easy to walk, but lion dance can definitely bring different values ​​and meanings to your life."

Now, Lai Yifan inherited his father's mantle, passed the national first-class coach and referee qualification in Fujian, and came to Zunyi, Guizhou to promote the lion awakening culture.

He has always emphasized to his apprentices that only by staging a strong horse can he dance the lion well; only by being upright can he walk the road of life steadily. Seeing the growth and changes of the disciples along the way, Lai Yifan felt that all his efforts were worth it.

During the Spring Festival, Lai Yifan brought his concentric dragon and lion war drum team to Zunyi Lantern Festival to send citizens and tourists a program called "Rui Lion Dance Celebrate Reunion" adapted on the basis of traditional lion waking, and interacted with the children, allowing them to get close to the culture that has been passed down for thousands of years.