Residents in the villages of Wuzi and Songdong in Putian city hosted traditional tiao huo, jumping through fire, ceremonies on the sixteenth and eighteenth days of first month in the Chinese lunar calendar, Feb 12 and 14.

The ritual has a long history in Putian and is intended to bring good luck and a rich harvest in the coming year. It also tests the courage of local young men.

In the event, a team of uniformed young men carry a religious statue on a litter across condensed bonfires. Although the specifics of the ritual differ from village to village, the young men often pass back and forth across the fire, until it is extinguished.

Bonfires range in size, but are typically around four meters in diameter. Watching young men stride fearlessly through hot thick flames is certainly a sight you won't easily forget.

A team of four young men carry a litter with a religious icon across a fire in the hope of brining good luck to their village of Songdong, Putian city, Fujian province on Feb 14. [Photo by Zhang Guojun/Xinhua]

Two young men race through fire carrying a litter on their shoulders in the village of Songdong, Fujian province, on Feb 14. [Photo by Zhang Guojun/Xinhua]