Basket lantern dance is a comprehensive folk performing art that integrates music, dance, folk songs, rap, fine arts, folk percussion, etc. There is such a legend about the origin of basket lanterns. According to legend, prehistoric wars were frequent and plagues were prevalent, and the people suffered terribly. After the Jade Emperor learned about it, he ordered the Queen Mother to lead the seven fairies to Kunyu Mountain, disguised as village girls carrying baskets, to treat local people. In order to thank the Queen Mother and the Jade Emperor, the villagers have since imitated the making of basket lanterns. Mouping basket lantern dance originated in the late Qing Dynasty and has a history of more than 100 years. It is mainly spread in Dalandong Village, Jianggezhuang Town, Mouping District. It is one of the most folk and representative folk song and dance art forms in Jiaodong area. The basket lantern is rectangular, like a palace lantern. The frame was originally made of corn stalks, and later changed to wooden strips. The exterior is decorated with auspicious and festive patterns of various paper-cuts or silk cloth. An oil lamp is fixed on the cross-shaped wooden frame at the bottom. The four corners above are decorated with garlands, and the base is decorated with flower patterns. The basket lantern dance consists of 22 people, 2 men and 20 women. The 2 men play the roles of "Jade Emperor" and "Queen Mother" respectively, and are the core of the entire performance team. The 20 women change the formation according to the performance requirements, and the steps are similar to the yangko formation. The team shapes include "snake shedding skin", "wearing 8 figures", "double circles", "five golden flowers", "scissors", "three circles", "dragon wagging tail", etc. Lantern songs are fixed sets of songs, and the lyrics are sung according to traditional festivals and other contents. The accompanying music can be fast or slow. The accompaniment mainly consists of gongs and drums and musical instruments. The dance is played by flower pot drums and small drums, and accompanied by banhu, erhu, flute, suona, cymbals and other instruments. When the formation changes, the band stops playing accompaniment, and one person plays the clapper and the other raps. A basket lantern performance lasts about 30 minutes. The costumes of the basket lantern dancers are quite exquisite, mostly red clothes and green pants, with red and green colored silk tied around the waist, a silk flower decorative hairpin on the head, and embroidered shoes on the feet. During the performance, the performers hold the basket lantern in their right hand, the colored silk tied around the waist in their left hand, and the basket lantern in front of their chest, and they line up in a row in the venue. The "Jade Emperor" stands at the front of the team, holding the fan lantern in his left hand and waving the whisk in his right hand, leading the whole team out. The "Queen Mother" holds the shoe lantern in her left hand and the handkerchief in her right hand, and stands at the end of the team. The steps of the basket lantern dance are strict, the steps are small and light, the body should be flexible, and the basket lantern should be flat and stable in front of the chest. The basket lantern dance is a square dance art with beautiful dance postures, grand and elegant. It evolved from folk legends in a specific area, reflecting the characteristics and style of regional cultural heritage, involving customs and folkways in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, and has important research and utilization value.