The fan drum originated in the Han Dynasty. It evolved from the tools used by beggars and the singing behavior. It is a very popular self-entertaining folk dance art form. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it spread to all levels of urban and rural areas. In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, it spread to the Zhao County area. It is mainly distributed in Yanghu in the east of the city, Tiancun and Beiwangcun in the south of the city, and Zhongzhang in the north of the city. Each has different artistic characteristics. The drum head of Zhaozhou fan drum is round, and the lower end of the drum handle is bent into a cloud hook shape. Three iron rings are hung on the left, middle and right of the hook. There are nine iron rings in total, and the surface of the iron rings protrudes with spiral prismatic patterns. As the old artist said, "The fan drum is round and round, and the nine-link ring is hit from top to bottom." The performance of the fan drum has multi-level characteristics, namely solo and antiphonal singing, storytelling, rap and singing and dancing. Its artistic style is bright, lively, humorous and funny, suitable for stage performances and square performances. There are solo and antiphonal forms such as "December" and "Lost Rings" and "Second Girl Riding a Donkey and King Xiaoganjiao" with roles, characters and plots, as well as "Lü Mengzheng Catching a Fast" in the form of rap, and "Catching Butterflies" and "Four Generations Going to Work" with strong dancing elements. Zhaozhou Fan Drum is a folk dance with local characteristics. Its drum beats and artistic style are very unique. It is a treasure of Zhao County's folk culture and an excellent flower of folk art in Hebei Province. In 1979, Zhaozhou Fan Drum won the third prize in Beijing. After continuous excavation and sorting, it has participated in performances and competitions of large-scale cultural activities at the provincial, municipal and national levels and won awards, and has been recognized and encouraged by relevant well-known experts. In recent years, the local government has listed Zhaozhou Fan Drum as a project to create Zhao County's cultural brand, established a professional fan drum art team, and set up three training bases in the urban area, namely Shita School, Veteran Cadre Activity Center and County Cultural Center Children's Art Troupe. At present, the old artists of Zhaozhou Fan Drum have left one after another, and there is no authentic school team among the people, facing a serious crisis of loss. Information source: Hebei Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center Information source: Hebei Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center