Stilt Walking

Stilt walking, or walking on stilts, is a popular traditional performance for the Han Chinese people, especially in Northern China. Stilt walking is performed by stilt walkers with two long stilts tied to their feet, making them taller than other people. Stilt walking performances can usually be seen during important festivals and events, such as the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival. With a long history, stilt walking performances have been developed into one of the most important folk dances in China.

TOPThe Origin of Stilt Walking

There is a folk legend about the origin of stilt walking. A foreign ambassador of the Spring and Autumn Period (722–481 BC), Yan Ying, visited his neighboring kingdom. Because of being short, Yan Ying was often laughed at by the officials of that kingdom. So he tied two stilts on his feet to make himself taller than normal people. By walking with the stilts, he spoke sarcastically to the people who had been laughing at him. After that, the tradition of stilt walking spread to the citizens, and people began to make it into a dance to celebrate big events and festivals.

There is another popular legend that fishermen in coastal villages used this technique to catch fish with sharp sticks. 

TOPFeatures

The stilts are mostly made of wood with a support point in the middle part which can be stepped on by the performers. Stilt walking requires a high degree of skill. The stilt walkers need to be brave enough to walk with the two thin stilts tied to their feet. They need to practice a lot to walk steadily on the stilts. To perform more beautiful movement patterns, they need to be even more skillful. Stilt walkers usually perform operas in different roles, and so they wear different costumes and makeup.

Stilt walking performances can be divided into gentle style (Wenqiao) and valiant style (Wuqiao). Gentle style stilt walking stresses appearance and amusement, while the valiant style is more like a kind of acrobatics, which emphasizes particular unique skills. Depending on different styles of the events, stilt walking also takes different forms. During big gathering events, gentle style stilt walking is mostly employed. Valiant style is usually seen on stage, such as the opening ceremony of 2008 Olympic Games.

Stilt walking has been developed into different unique forms in different places in China. The most popular destinations for seeing stilt walking performances are Beijing , Shanxi and Shandong.