YICHUN, Jiangxi Province, Oct. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- When China is striding on its way to modernization, the traditional dragons and lions dance is accompanying the transition.

    Among skyscrapers, the age-old lion and dragon dance dating back to more than a thousand years ago carries on its popularity and livingness, which is the same in China's biggest and most advanced city of Shanghai or in anywhere else around the country.

    "Some may think that since Shanghai is becoming more modernizedeach day, young people will leave behind our traditional culture," said a Shanghai dragon dance coach Tang Yongqing, who led his students to take part in the on-going 5th National Games of Peasants here.

    "Contrary to their imagination, many young people in Shanghai feel it a great thing to learn it. We have many young lion and dragon dancers back home," he said.

    Tang and his dragon dance team are from Shanghai's Sancun town known as the "town of dragon dance", where even shcool children form their own dragon dance teams.

    Zhang Jiaxun was also pleased to see the younger generations catching up.

    "It is my second and last tour to the Games of Peasants. The competition of the dragon and lion dance is getting better each time and now I begin to consider retirement," said the 66-year-olddragon dance team drummer, the eldest player in this event.

    "I will be happily watching the youngsters perform four years later," said the Yunnan peasant in the quadrennial Games.

    Even women start to crack in the previously all-man performanceat these Games.

    Ge Li from Tianjin became the only female player holding the lion head at the competition.

    The 17-year-old, formerly a taekwondo player, fell in love with the lion dance and formed the team with several other girls in March.

    Coach Sun Wenqi was very proud of his protegees.

    "There are more and more women competing at the Olympic Games for China. As Chinese traditional performance, dragon and lion dance should have its own female dancers," said Sun, also an international referee with the international dragon and lion danceunion based in Beijing.

    "We are going to interest as many female as possible in the sport as we do in Tianjin," Sun added.

    In the West, the dragon has been portrayed as evil while the Chinese believes that the dragon represents prowess, nobility and fortune and the dragon dance was already a popular activity by theSung Dynasty (960-1279 AD) while the Lion Dance, also having a long history in the Chinese tradition, was originally used for worship and to pray for rain.

    Both are so popular that they are considered an indispensable part of most Chinese festivals and sometimes on special events such as corporate anniversaries and the opening of new businesses.

    The colorful display of large lion costumes dancing, usually accompanied by the blasting of firecrackers, is believed to bring luck.

    Dragon dances are different from lion dances in the way it is performed. The difference is in the way the dragon is held atop bya group of performers who move the giant puppet from the outside by walking in simultaneous patterns to make the dragon appear as if it is flying.

    Lion dances, on the other hand, are performed by a crew of two who move the large cloth or paper puppet from inside. The movements of the lion head, eyes, mouth, and ears are not restricted.

    To keep the dragon and lion dance a long-lived tradition, Chinaholds various national and regional tournaments including nationalchampionships.

    In 2003, the first dragon and lion dance training class for coaches opened in Central South University in Hunan province in a bid to promote the sport in colleges and universities. Enditem