Historical origin of Haicheng stilts

Haicheng is the birthplace of stilts in southern Liaoning. The earliest written record of the yangko on stilts in Haicheng can be found in the Records of Haicheng County published in Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty: in the 12th year of Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty (1673), stilts and dry boats danced along the street in Sanyi Temple in Niuzhuang ancient town. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the maritime trade in Northeast China was mainly concentrated in the offshore of southern Liaoning, and then Niuzhuang, an ancient town in Haicheng, became the distribution center of materials inside and outside Shanhaiguan and the earliest water commercial port in Liaodong. With the influx of immigrants and the economic and trade development in southern Liaoning, the arts of the north and the south have also been widely exchanged in Haicheng. At that time, the stilt performance of Yangko Festival was limited to playing with knives and sticks on stilts, which artists called Wushu stilts. With the passage of time, Haicheng folk artists constantly explored and improved the artistic forms and techniques of traditional stilts, moved the traditional Han folk dramas in China to stilts, and gradually formed the unique performance style of Haicheng stilts, that is, fiery, cheerful, provocative and rough. Every year, on the second day of the first lunar month, dancing yangko and walking on stilts become one of the traditional Han folk customs of Haicheng people.