Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei "Stilts Meeting" A line of folk customs is coming

(Source:《Beijing Youth Daily》February 09, 2026)

Jia Huaiqin

Stilts, a kind of street performance art, are very popular among the masses in artistic performances to celebrate the New Year. From a popular geographical point of view, stilt performances span many provinces in northwest, north China and northeast China, and each region has different names for it. The "Stilt Club" in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area carries regional cultural identity and collective memory and has become a unique business card of northern folk culture.

"Stilt Club" comes with 12 characters as standard

In terms of performance, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei "Stilt Club" has 12 characters as standard, namely the tutuo, the second brother, the young master, the young lady (called "old seat" in jargon), The medicine seller, the ugly woman, the fisherman, the woodcutter, the gong A (one gong), the gong B (two gongs), the drummer A (one drum) and the drummer B (two drums), these characters are arranged in pairs and march together to perform. In addition, the stilt team also has auxiliary personnel, such as those who hold conference flags to clear the way, and those who hold small pennants to maintain the venue.

Toutuo mostly looks like a man with a golden face and a curly beard, wearing short black clothes. As the leader of the team, he holds a short stick in each hand and cross-hits it. This is not only a performance, but also a signal for marching in formation, rounding off the field and closing the team. The second brother is a handsome boy with long hair. He wields a horse whip used in opera and runs forward and backward, responsible for cleaning up the venue. The young master is dressed as a heroic martial artist. His coat is unbuttoned and his inner coat is tied with a hero's knot. He holds the placket of his haori with his left hand and shakes a large folding fan with his right hand. He dances around and is the center of the audience. The "old lady" has a typical appearance and dress of a young lady. The intimacy between the young master and the young lady is a highlight.

The medicine seller and the ugly woman act as clowns, and most of the audience’s laughter comes from them. The ugly woman is dressed as a matchmaker and performs the best clown show. The fisherman wears a straw hat and gray linen clothes, with a fishing rod slanted behind his back and a small fish hanging on the hook of the fishing rod. The woodcutter wears a felt straw hat ring and ocher linen clothes. When walking, his right hand holds a shoulder pole and vibrates to the beat of the drum.

The two gong-weighers wear green clothes, green trousers, and green turbans. They hold small gongs in their left hands, wave their hands with their right hands, and strike the gong surface from below—this is called "weighing gongs." Two drummers straddle the waist drum diagonally and beat the drum head with both hands. The rhythm of weighing gongs is the same as that of drums, except that the strong beats are played on the edge of the gong and the weak beats are struck on the surface.

“Stilts Fair” is the benchmark for folk flower fairs in North China

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei "Stilt Club" is the core genre of stilt walking in the north. It has become the benchmark for folk flower festivals in North China with its "literary stilts singing, chanting, fighting, and martial arts stilts leaping skills" and is the master of stilt walking in the north.

The performance actions of "Stilt Club" are divided into marching and playing. When traveling, move forward in the order of the predetermined positions of each character. The challenge is to go uphill and downhill, which is a test of performance skills. The elders say that in the past, every temple fair held on the 18th day of the fourth lunar month in Yaji Mountain in Pinggu, the "Stilt Fair" and other flower fairs had to be climbed step by step from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain along the mountain road.

To play, the two columns are separated first, and one column is formed into a circle, and then special skills are performed in the circle. There are many unique skills in the "Stilt Club", such as hip-rearing, Maoer, Su Qin carrying a sword, doing splits, holding a big top, kite turning over, pulling a camel, etc. For example, in a kite turn, the character's upper body gradually tilts backward until it is almost parallel to the ground, and then returns to an upright position with a sudden movement.

In recent years, the standard configuration of the "Stilt Club" in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei has doubled, but the basic performance program of the "Stilt Club" remains unchanged. Its performance form, role setting, and musical accompaniment have become "living fossils" for the study of northern folk customs, operas, and folk dances.

The "Stilts Meeting" in the memories of Miyun indigenous people

The Miyun Stilt Association is one of the representative inheritance samples in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Stilt Association system, and is also a key carrier of northern folk customs and intangible cultural inheritance.

The Huahui (Shehuo) in Miyun area is quite prosperous. The earliest Bailongtan Flower Fair in Bajiazhuang began in the Yuan Dynasty more than 600 years ago. According to a survey by the County Cultural Center, there are 39 types of Miyun Flower Fairs with 340 stalls. Among them, stilts are the largest variety, with 42 levels. During the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival, village fire performers not only parade in their hometowns, but also gather in the county for centralized performances.

Miyun had a city wall back then, and the flower festival parade route was fixed. Entering the city from the east gate, which is regarded as the "Happy Gate", first march along Dongmen Street, and then turn to the wider Shangying Hutong to pay New Year's greetings to the district government. Then follow the line from T-shaped Street to Gulou East Street to Gulou West Street to pay New Year greetings to the county government. The flower fair passes by Shangying, East of the Drum Tower, and in front of the Drum Tower. These three "slopes" are a major test for the stilt performance skills. Along the way, some large merchants set up tables in front of their doors, provided tea, snacks, and cigarettes, and invited flowers to perform in a roundabout manner, showcasing their skills.

The 1958 county-wide Stilts Association performance pushed Miyun’s “Stilts Association” to its historical peak. On the eve of the 15th day of the first lunar month of that year, the county-wide stilts performance organized by the county mass literature and art department was held at the playground of the county’s No. 2 primary w88 casino. More than 20 teams participated. Teams further away from the county set off early and arrived in the county by horse-drawn carriage. The high ridges and rooftops near the venue were filled with spectators, a sea of ​​people, cheering loudly. At the end of that performance, Caijiawa team won first place. The young master of the team performed very difficult moves, which was impressive.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the flower show was interrupted twice. Nowadays, with the development and construction of rural culture, some villages have organized a new generation of flower festival teams to perform during the Spring Festival, such as Xishaoqu Village in Dongshaoqu Town, Dongtiangezhuang Village in Taishitun Town, and Jinpoluo Village in Xiwengzhuang Town.

According to the "Miyun County Chronicle", the performance of the Miyun "Stilt Club" not only includes movements, but also singing. I tried to restore the score based on my memories, and filled in new words based on the Miyun Reservoir Construction Battle from 1958 to 1960. The "twenty-two counties" in the words refer to the 22 counties (districts) in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei that participated in the Miyun Reservoir Construction Battle; "Independence" The "Arm Hero" Li Shixi is a soldier who used his remaining single arm to push a wheelbarrow and always overfulfilled his earth-moving tasks; the "Ten Sisters" are a model group, and their deeds were later adapted into a play by Beijing's Hebei Bangzi Troupe.

Attachment: Original report link