Weihai Culture
As people’s realization of culture is strengthened in the course of time, mass culture, folk culture and characteristic culture in Weihai is flourished and sprung up. This assists Weihai in getting the name of “the home of Chinese folk art”, “the county’s home of papercutting” and “the hometown of national singing culture”. Its county-level city Rushan city was named as the advanced frontier cultural corridor construction county. During the construction of the social and cultural advanced county, Wendeng, Rongcheng, Rushan have got the position in national level. And Weihai’s square cultural activities are rich and colorful, so that 5 of its squares have been rated in top ten squares.
Rushan Bass Drum
Rushan bass drum is also known as “the blinds ‘singing” which stems from the reason that the brass drums are mainly played by the blinds after drums originated form Xihe drums. During the process of playing and performing, the local dialect was added and the lyrics which came from the local life were used, so more and more audience was attracted.
From the old society to the founding of new China, Rushan was the main form of artistic entertainment in the villages in Rushan. The themes of their works have distinct characteristics of times. Besides, the accompanying instruments of Rushan brass drum are diverse; they could be side drum, Sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument), Huqin (a general term for certain two-stringed bowed), flute, etc.
Rushan Yanko
Yanko is a traditional folk dance with strong local characteristics. You can feel its bold and unconstrained vigor in a distant place, and its compact rhythm when you go closely. It seems to be the walking band, the singing square and a grand drama, which strengthen the festive atmosphere and the harmony of the festival. There is a saying that is “Zhou Dynasty’s Yanko, Tang Dynasty’s opera” so that we could understand that Yanko can be traced back to Zhou Dynasty.
Besides, as a city that neighbors the sea on three sides, Weihai is shaped deeply by sea. One of the results of that is fishing culture. People here hold unique rituals like offering sacrifices to the sea, sea straw houses, etc.
