Legend has it that lions appeared in the mountains before and ate the villagers in the village. Later, the villagers learned martial arts and killed the lion. The villagers imitated the shape of a lion and became lion dancers. There is also a myth version that the Tathagata leads the lion away, so there is often a big head Buddha leading the lion among the southern lions. There is also a legend that some villagers used paper lions and gongs and drums to drive away Nian animals and turned them into lion dances.

Lion dance has a long history and is the product of cultural exchanges between China and the West. As early as 1900 years ago, Persia conducted commercial trade with China through the Silk Road, which also promoted cultural exchanges between the two countries. Persian messengers also brought lions and other animals to China. At that time, China did not produce lions, but with the friendly exchanges between ancient China and countries such as West Asia and India, more lions came to China.

Lion dance is an excellent folk art in China. Lion dance can be divided into north and south, and the southern lion is also called lion awakening. Lions are made of colored strips of cloth. Each lion is usually performed by two people, one jumping at the head and the other jumping at the tail. Under the sound of gongs and drums, the performers dressed up as lions and made various movements of lions. Lion dancers should show southern martial arts with various moves when performing, which is very masculine.

Lion dance is considered as an auspicious thing to ward off evil spirits. Whenever there is a festival or major event, it will be accompanied by a lion dance, which will last for a long time and be passed down from generation to generation. Lion dance activities are also widely circulated in overseas Chinese communities. Where there are Chinese, there will be lion dances, which have become an important ceremony to enhance national prestige and establish the soul of China, and a cultural bridge for overseas compatriots to recognize their ancestors and return to their ancestors. Its cultural value and influence are far-reaching.