Taiyuan gongs and drums are a kind of gongs and drums music popular in Taiyuan and Jinzhong. There are many kinds of music cards: "Liu Shui", "One Two Five" and so on. According to legend, it began in 947 AD in Guzhai Village, the southern suburbs of Taiyuan, where the sister of Liu Zhiyuan, the founder of the Later Han Dynasty, lived. It is said that when the emperor's aunt came out, she would greet her with gongs and drums, and the tune played was "Liu Shui" passed down from today. It means "blessing is like the flowing water of the East China Sea".

The instruments used in Taiyuan gongs and drums are divided into two groups, large and small, which are famous for their popularity. The musical instruments are big drum, big cymbal, and big cymbal, and the big drum is the leader. We all have war drums, horse gongs, and two cymbals and hammers. The distinctive features of the musical structure and percussion art are: repeated chapters and repeated sentences, staggered lengths and short sentences, similar to the sentence structure of classical poetry, which can give people the impression of being thick, compact, and repeated. Sharp pauses are often used in performances, such as rests in musical scores, to give people a deep and clean impression. When played slowly, it is like gurgling water, when it is played suddenly, it is like big waves; when it is played lightly, it jingles, and when it is struck hard, it sounds like thunderbolts. The performer is in an excited mood, sometimes throwing a cymbal and appearing, sometimes holding a pumpkin in his arms. Sound, emotion, and performance are intertwined and fascinating.

The biggest feature of Taiyuan gongs and drums is that the two teams set up a formation and compete with each other. This kind of confrontation often occurs on festive days when the two teams see each other on the streets. Whenever this happens, the two sides refuse to give in to each other, each showing off their skills, playing one song after another, one after another, one after another, anxious for a while, never giving up even if the mountains are high and the water is low. This kind of confrontation and competition has become a traditional custom of Taiyuan gongs and drums, just like two armies facing each other, vowing to decide the outcome. This kind of performance on the stage becomes more and more exciting the more you play, and the more you watch it, the more excited you are. Sometimes the performance lasts for five or six hours without giving up. His skillful playing skills and intense scenes are rare in China. It reflects the rugged and fierce local characteristics of Taiyuan people since ancient times, and also reflects the national characteristics of Taiyuan people's perseverance, yearning for and pursuit of victory. It constitutes the local characteristics of the majestic sound and color of Taiyuan gongs and drums, and also establishes the unique position of Taiyuan gongs and drums in Taiyuan folk social fire customs.