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For many Chinese revelers, Lantern Festival, which fell on Feb 15 this year, marks an exuberant end to two weeks of Lunar New Year festivities.
对于许多沉浸在节日里的中国人来说，元宵节为为期两周的农历新年画上了一个喜庆的句号。
For folk artist Wang De, it is also the busiest, best time for him to show off his signature craft-creating molten iron fireworks.
而对于民间艺人王德而言，这是他一年中最忙的时候，因为这是他展示招牌手艺——打树花最好的时候。
Wang, who is a blacksmith by trade and an exponent of the 500-year-old art of dashuhua, which literally means "creating tree flowers", lives in Yuxian county in the city of Zhangjiakou, North China's Hebei province.
生活在河北省张家口市蔚县的王德以打铁为生，同时也是有500多年历史的“打树花”的传承人。
To create molten iron fireworks, scrap iron is melted to 1,600 C and thrown against a cold wall to blinding effect.
为了打出树花，要把废铁烧到1600摄氏度，然后把高温铁水泼洒到冰冷的城墙上，迸溅形成万朵火花。
Wang, 58, and his assistants put on over a dozen dashuhua performances for villagers and tourists as part of Spring Festival celebrations each year.
春节里，58岁的王德和其他手艺人按照风俗习惯，都要为村民和游客们表演十几场打树花。
The folk artist hopes the revival of the tradition can bring more visitors to his hometown of Zhangjiakou, which entered the international spotlight following its successful bid to co-host with Beijing the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
张家口在北京成功申办2022年冬奥会之后，成为国际关注的焦点。而这位民间艺人希望打树花的复兴能够为他的家乡吸引来更多的游客。
Dashuhua is a traditional form of fireworks performance that takes place during certain festivals.
打树花是一种古老的节日民俗。
Using special scoops made from willow roots, the performers, who are dressed in sheepskin coats and bamboo hats, throw the molten iron at city walls.
汉子们身穿羊皮袄，头戴草帽，手拿柳木勺，将一勺勺铁水奋力地泼洒在城墙上。
The mix bursts into sparks that look like glittering tree branches.
而后迸溅出无数耀眼夺目的火花，犹如枝繁叶茂的树冠。
In ancient times, blacksmiths performed dashuhua to simulate actual fireworks-a luxury that only the most prominent townspeople could normally afford.
在古代，烟花通常只有富人才买得起。于是，铁匠用打树花来模拟真实的烟花。
There are only four people left in China who have mastered the ancient practice, and three of them are either middle-aged or elderly, according to local media reports.
据当地媒体报道，目前掌握此绝活的只有四人，其中三人已步入中年或老年。
Due to the nature of the performance-handling superheated coal and molten iron-it's easy for performers to sustain injuries.
由于打树花需要处理高温的煤和熔化的铁水，表演时很容易受伤。
In 2016, the BBC documentary Chinese New Year: The Biggest Celebration on Earth carried shots of the spectacular "canopy of flowers made from flying shards of molten metal".
2016年，英国广播公司出品的纪录片《中国春节：全球最大的盛会》 拍摄了“融化的金属碎片四处飞溅，犹如枝繁叶茂的花冠”的壮观景象。
During a performance, Wang wears a straw hat and a thick sheepskin coat to protect him from the heat. He holds a willow scoop in his hand, walks up to the furnace near the wall, dips in the scoop and slings the molten iron at the wall to produce the dazzling display.
在表演中，王德反穿羊皮袄、头戴草帽走到墙边，面前是一盆1600摄氏度的铁水。他舀起一勺，快速泼洒到冰冷的墙上，顿时火花飞溅令人眼花缭乱。
Each performance needs about 300 kilograms of molten iron, which he sources from scrapyards.
每次打树花，都要用掉600斤左右的铁水，这都是他从废品收购站收来的。
"I wear the sheepskin coat inside out so it is not easily ignited when the sparks hit it," he says.
王德说，反穿羊皮袄，毛朝外，因为毛不容易起明火，即使火星子掉到身上，也能很快灭掉。
His straw hat is specially designed with a wide downward brim so sparks will roll off it without it burning.
他的草帽也是专门设计的，帽檐宽大朝下，这样火星会从帽子上滚落而不会燃起来。
But the high-risk tradition is still only reserved for the brave.
这项惊险的表演是勇敢者的游戏。
During a performance a few years ago, Wang suffered severe burns on his leg and he took two months to recover.
在几年前的一次表演中，王德的腿被严重烧伤，花了两个月时间才恢复。
An intangible cultural heritage of Hebei province, the show is presented only in Nuanquan, which was founded in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as a garrison town for Beijing.
作为河北省的一项非物质文化遗产，打树花只能在暖泉镇看到。暖泉镇始建于明朝，是为驻军屯兵而建的官堡。
Then, the iron-making industry flourished in the township as it was a base for making weapons.
后来，暖泉镇成了打造兵器的基地，冶铁业也得以在此蓬勃发展。
Blacksmiths drew inspiration from the sparks and amused themselves by throwing molten iron at walls during the festive season.
铁匠们从打铁时四溅的火花中得到灵感，把熔化的铁水泼洒到古堡城门上方的砖墙上，喜庆过年。
Both Wang's father and grandfather were blacksmiths.
王德的父亲和爷爷也都是铁匠。
"I learned the craft from my father. When I was young, I thought it was exciting. But years later I also felt it was my responsibility to pass it on to the next generation," he says.
王德说，“十几岁就跟随父亲学打铁。年轻时，我觉得这很刺激。但现在，作为‘树花’传承人，如何将这门绝技传承下去，我有这份责任。”
"I have two sons, and I made my younger son learn the craft. He has to learn otherwise it will be lost."
“我有两个儿子，我让我的小儿子学习这门手艺。他必须得学，否则这项绝技就失传了。”
The art of dashuhua requires extraordinary courage, skill and strength. A single scoopful of iron weighs more than two kilograms.
打树花这项艺术需要非凡的勇气、技巧和力量。要知道，一瓢铁水的重量就超过4斤。
The molten iron fireworks performance has now become a major tourist attraction.
如今，众多游客来到了暖泉镇，只为一睹这视觉盛宴。
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编辑：陈月华 周婵
记者：王茜
录音：Stephanie Stone
实习生：程程
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