The 2014 Yangtze River Delta Rolling Lamp Artistic Performance will be staged at Tianjinghu Square in Taicang's Science and Education New town, Jiangsu province, on Sept 13.

Performers from Taicang, Shanghai's Fengxian district and Zhejiang's Yuhang district and Haiyan county will present brilliant rolling lamp performances.

With a history of over 800 years, rolling lamp has been listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage. It is a form of ancient folk acrobatics that is popular in Jiangsu, Zhejiang province and Shanghai.

Rolling Lamp is a folk art that combines dance, acrobatics and sports and is very popular in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The prop, a lamp, was made of two bamboo balls. A small ball covered with colored cloth was placed inside a big ball. The small ball was connected to the big ball with a rotating ring device. A lit candle can be put inside the small ball and no matter how the external ball rolls, the candle inside would remain horizontal. So playing rolling lamp is a unity of strength and skills, vigor and flexibility. The inner ball was also decorated with small brass bells. When the external ball is rolled, the inner ball glitters with candlelight and tinkles.

Rolling lamp was once shown in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Expo 2010 and even in foreign countries. According to Yuan Guanghua, an inheritor of Taicang's rolling lamp, this year's performance will represent the highest level of rolling lamp art in Yangtze River Delta area.

The rolling lamp used to be played by men. In order to help it to survive into the future, Yuan and his apprentices have innovatively improved the art form. They have transformed the rolling lamp from a show of men's masculine beauty into a group dance that combines dance, acrobatics and sports and requires a spirit of group cooperation. Women and children now also perform in the art form.

In addition, 60 students from Taicang Secondary Vocational School, which is the inheritance base of Taicang's rolling lamp, will give a performance in the upcoming CCTV's Mid-lantern Festival gala in Suzhou.