The lotus-picking boat is also called the dry boat. This festive activity and folk dance form of the Spring Festival has existed since ancient times. It is recorded in the Tang Dynasty's "Miscellaneous Records of Emperor Minghuang" and the Qing Dynasty's "Records of Yanjing Sui Shi". Hanzhong's Spring Festival boat-playing has been popular for a long time. Just after the first day of the first lunar month, the colorful lotus boat dances in cities and towns surrounded by gongs, drums and colorful lanterns, and even performs all night from village to village. The colorful boats have been made by local folk paper-making craftsmen in the twelfth lunar month. They are made of bamboo strips, colorful silk and colorful paper, and then painted with rich colors. The boat body is decorated with colorful flowers, hydrangeas and rotating lotus colored lanterns. The styles of the boats include lotus boats, carp boats, dragon head and phoenix tail boats, and red phoenix and sunrise boats. Hanzhong's lotus-picking boats are exquisitely shaped and colorful, and most of them are very delicate and gorgeous. The main performers of the lotus-picking boats are old boatmen and boat girls. The old boatman is played by a young and middle-aged man, and the boat girl must be the most beautiful girl in her twenties selected by the village group or street to show the handsome men and beautiful women of each family. The old boatman is equipped with a boat oar, a sun hat, a belt, leggings, red tassel straw sandals, and a long beard, which is very heroic, while the boat girl is dressed in silk and satin, and is extremely seductive. The boat girl is in the cabin, and uses a silk ribbon to tie the boat system to her waist and shoulders. The boat is surrounded by cloth and painted into waves. During the performance, the audience can only vaguely see the hazy face of the boat girl hidden in the cabin and the broken steps of the golden lotus exposed on the bottom of the boat from the bow, which creates infinite beautiful reverie. During the performance, the boatman paddles the boat and the boat girl sails the boat. In the sound of gongs and drums that gradually accelerates, there are actions such as paddling, rowing, resisting wind and waves, crossing rapids, and crossing dangerous shoals. When the boat is stranded, the boatman even digs sand, pushes the boat, vacates, and rolls. At this time, the gongs and drums are intensive, and the performance enters the 0th, which is extremely tense and enthusiastic. The boat girls work closely with the boatman to make the lotus-picking boat rise and fall, bump, shake, rotate, and shuttle through the field. The actors inside and outside the boat are sweating profusely, and the performance is extremely exciting. There are also mapo mothers, peddlers, etc. who cooperate with the performance of the lotus-picking boat. They use funny, ugly and witty faces to set off the joyful atmosphere, which complements the main performance of the lotus-picking boat and achieves a dramatic effect of both solemnity and humor. After the performance of the lotus-picking boat, the boating ends. The boatman and the boat girl row the boat on the spot and start singing flower drums. Hanzhong flower drums are folk tunes performed by Hanzhong lotus-picking boats. They are accompanied by gongs and drums, with simple tunes, bright and warm rhythms. The flower drum lyrics are self-composed and sung, improvising, praising and congratulating. After the boatman and the boat girl finish singing, everyone watching outside the scene can sing off the cuff, and everyone is an actor. Chenggu and Yangxian mostly use "silk string troupes" to sing songs. One person sings and everyone "pulls the slope", which is very lively. To perform with colorful boats during the Spring Festival, one must first "place an invitation", also known as "report lanterns", and then be invited to perform. The host will treat them with tobacco and tea, or prepare meals, or pay them a fee. Hanzhong people are very kind. When performing in public places, each family first uses a boat to "set up the scene" in the dense crowd, and then performs. Sometimes several families perform in the same venue, with colorful boats competing for beauty, gongs and drums beating, and it is very lively. (Compiled from the Hanzhong Museum website)