Earth & fire

Every lunar new year in the county of Zhongguan of the Shaanxi province. Shehuo is a spectacular folk event religious festival which involves a carnival parade and the dressing up in costume. The festival Shehuo combines the two names of folk deities. SHE for Earth God and HUO for the Ancestor of Fire. For over a thousand years the people of Shaanxi have been taking up the tradition to celebrate Shehuo in honor of these two deities by parading in disguise. They would paint their faces and dress in ancient costumes according to the standards of the opera, and assuming the personality of the heroes they represent, be them historical or legendary figures dating back to the warring kingdoms, to Han dynasty, Tang or Song dynasties. These figures are made of kings, generals, political strategy counsels, princes and princesses. They can be either good or evil characters, as long as they are known to possess extraordinary powers, be that martial, righteous or cunning.