Among the Chinese dances, the folk dance is the greatest in number, the most extensive and the deepest into life, and the closest to everyone's daily life.

Folk dance covers a wide area, including most of the dances involved in various ethnic and folk Customs and activities, such as production, the occasions to mark the climate and other natural phenomena of the seasons, marriage and funerals, beliefs and religions. This kind of dance originated from the embryonic period of the dance art and still exists today, forming the so-called folk dance. Of course, today folk dances appear more in festivals for entertainment, and their original meaning is either weakened or completely lost. But the root of these dances is all deeply connected with folk activities that used to be popular in various ethnic groups.

Dance has been a loyal companion of mankind on his way toward higher civilizations. Through the long course of history, dance accompanied mankind from birth to lying peacefully in the earth. At every step of life, there is always the faithful companion, dance. Folk dances enliven the life course and escort every member of the society from birth to life's end.

The folk dances that connect to the climate and other natural phenomena of the seasons are the most common. At present, most ethnic groups perform their traditional dances during the Spring Festival (or New Year of each nationality), which is now an art gala of China. But in the past, there were many festivals related to the seasons. Almost every festival must have music and dance among the varied performances.

Dances related to production can be found in every nationality. In the agricultural regions, the dances often represent the farming life and express hopes for good weather and ample harvest. Such dances can be found in the Shehuo, yangko, Caicha (Picking Tea Leaves) of the Han nationality, the Moguai (Frog) Dance of the Zhuang nationality, and the Niuwang (Cow King) Dance of the Buyi nationality. In the mountainous regions, the people have more dances on paying tribute to the God of Mountain, and there are also many dances imitating various animals. Such dances are like the "Xiangbaga" (Dance to Offer Sacrifices to the God of Hunting) of the Nu nationality, the "jishenhui" (Fair to Pay Tribute to the God of Mountain) of the oroqen nationality, and the Bear Dance of the Ewenki nationality. The fishermen who make a living on the sea have dances relating to the ocean species and the gods of the sea (one most famous goddess is the Mazu worshipped along the southeastern coast). Two Such dances are the "Wujiuli" (Nine Carp Dance) in Fujian Province, and "Jihaiwu" (Dance to Pay Tribute to the Sea) in Hainan Province.