A Qingtian fish lantern dance is staged on June 8, 2015, at the National Pavilion Day of China of Expo 2015 in Milano, Italy. [Photo/zjfeiyi.cn]

The Qingtian fish lantern dance is the most representative traditional folk fish lantern dance in Zhejiang province. It is mainly popular in Qingtian county, in Lishui.

It expresses a combination of Qingtian fishing culture and folk art. Liu Ji, an official of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), developed the dance and added military elements to it.

The Qingtian fish lantern dance is of great artistic and historical value. It has been demonstrated in many cultural exchange activities at home and abroad with excellent results, which have earned it the title of "first fish in the world". It was staged on June 8, 2015, at the National Pavilion Day of China of Expo 2015 in Milano, Italy.

It was listed in the second batch of national representative intangible cultural heritages in 2008.

To preserve its heritage Qingtian county expanded its inheritance patterns, and invited foreign students to learn fish lantern performance skills using performance props. The outcome was an overseas Qingtian fish lantern dance training base.