Is Lantern Festival a traditional opera in Yunnan?

Lantern Opera (Yuxi Lantern Opera) is a traditional opera in Yuxi City, Yunnan Province and one of the national intangible cultural heritages.

Yuxi Lantern Opera originated from folk lantern dance, which was a local opera popular in Yunnan in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.

Yuxi Lantern Opera is called "New Lantern" because of its early innovation, and its repertoire and performance form are greatly influenced by Yunnan Opera. In the artistic form of performance, Yuxi Lantern Opera is mainly composed of two-person singing and dancing and group dancing with more than two people, with unlimited content. Representative repertoires include traditional repertoires such as butterfly lovers, Rebirth Stick, Mo Chounv, Knife Meeting, modern repertoires such as Midnight Song and Home, and modern repertoires such as Red Guards of the Red River and Great Wall of the South China Sea.

On May 20th, 2006, with the approval of China people and the State Council, the Lantern Festival declared by Yuxi was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage, with the heritage number Ⅳ-78.