A shipment of 460 handcrafted lion heads and 230 matching drums will soon leave Taibao Town in Lianshan County, Qingyuan City, Guangdong Province, for Malaysia's Johor State, arriving in time for Chinese New Year celebrations in 2026.
This is one of the largest single orders of its kind and will be supplied to 230 local lion dance troupes across Johor.
The lion heads were specially made in the red, white, and blue of Johor's government logo, highlighting the cultural ties between the two regions. Zhao Weibin, a national inheritor of Guangdong‑style lion dance said Johor officials visited Lianshan to review the designs and confirm production standards.
For villages such as Liantang in Taibao Town, lion‑dance craft is both a cultural tradition and an increasingly important source of income.
Since gaining export approval in 2024, the Lianshan Lion Dance Industrial Park where the lion heads were crafted has recorded overseas sales of more than three million yuan, while its 216 cultural products have generated another three million yuan in domestic revenue. The industry has created local jobs, especially for women and others who wish to work close to home.
The initiative is part of a wider drive to revive rural culture and the local economy under the High-quality Development Project for Guangdong Counties, Towns and Villages. By converting disused school buildings and old granaries, the town has established a network that includes a main base, eight branch workshops and a training centre, connecting resources across village, town and county levels.
One resident, Tang Yanqing, who has worked at the base for five years, said the reliable pay allows her to support her family without having to leave home.
"We are building on the rich cultural soil of Liantang's lion dance, creating a two-way flow where heritage preservation fuels rural industry and industry, in turn, sustains the tradition," said Taibao Town's leading official. "That has opened a new path: culture drives incomes, and industry feeds back into heritage."
He added that the next step would be to keep expanding the lion dance industry, sending more Liantang-made lion heads abroad, and helping China's traditional culture shine on the world stage.
Author | Feng Huiting
Photo | Nanfang Plus
