Around the Spring Festival, it is the busiest time of the year for Liu Xiaoming's Shandong Bangzi Regiment in Pingyin County. A few years ago, the reporter saw in Jiaoliugou Village, Xiaozhi Town, that Liu Xiaoming, the head of the regiment, came to the small shop at the entrance of the village early and sorted out the costumes and props needed for the rehearsal and Jiagutong. Although there was still an hour before the appointed time, many members had already come to wait here. The small dressing room was filled with the sound of changing costumes, and everyone chatted about family life while familiarizing themselves with the movements and preparing for the next rehearsal. 
The reporter learned that every year before the Spring Festival, Liu Xiaoming's Shandong Bangzi Troupe will concentrate on rehearsals and Jiagutong, and this year it is planned in advance, and the rehearsal will be started before the lunar month. "To do this is to get busier the festive season. Especially during the Spring Festival every year, we are on the road, either going to the city and county, or sending the drama to the countryside, and we can perform more than 30 performances at most next year! Liu Xiaoming said, "The meaning of Jiagutong is to pray for smooth weather and good life all year round!" We must bring this kind of good wishes to the people and make the New Year's flavor stronger. ”
There was no special rehearsal room, and the outside became a temporary rehearsal place for them. The temperature was almost below zero that day, and one mouth was filled with wind, but the cold and freezing could not extinguish their enthusiasm for the performance - as soon as the drums beat and the gongs and cymbals sounded, the members quickly showed their best state and began to rehearse intensively. Although there are no stage lighting, everyone is very engaged, from the body shape to the movement, it is already as hard as a formal performance. "Although there are fewer family reunions, it is still worth the effort to feel the charm of Kagutong with everyone. Member Li Hailian told reporters. She lives in the county seat, and every time she receives a rehearsal and performance notice, she has to go back and forth between her home and the venue, but she enjoys it. 
The noisy performance of gongs and drums, the vivid performance, and the vivid costumes ......Unconsciously, this simple rehearsal attracted many villagers to move benches to "watch", and the scene was full of laughter and laughter, and many people even picked up their mobile phones to record the lively scene. Not only do they often rehearse in the village, but they also participate in the big performances held in the town during the New Year's holidays. As long as we hear the movement of gongs and drums, we will all go out and join in the fun! The villagers of Jiaoliugou Village said one after another. 
Jiagutong is a famous folk dance in Shandong, spread in Xiaozhi Town, Jiaoliugou, Songliugou area, has a history of more than 400 years, originated from the ancient rain sacrifice activities, and later gradually developed into a folk art form of Spring Festival play, in 2009 was selected as the provincial intangible cultural heritage list ......Speaking of Jiagutong, Liu Xiaoming, as its county-level inheritor, opened the conversation. "When I was young, I accidentally watched a performance in the village and thought it was really lively, so I became interested and started to learn from a teacher. She said, "It's really 'addictive' to perform Gakutong!" Some friends in the village who like to be lively and love square dancing also have this feeling, and later simply set up the stage and sing by themselves. ”
According to reports, the oldest member of the regiment is in his 70s, and the youngest is nearly 50 years old. But it is such a "sunset red" team with an average age of 60 years old, since its establishment in 2011, it has insisted on walking the streets and alleys with Jiagutong, running around many provinces and cities all year round, participating in activities such as sending operas to the countryside, festivals, square performances, harvest celebrations, etc., and has gone through 13 years. From the beginning of the three or five people to the current 28 people, from a full-time performance plus Gutong to expand into opera, sketches and other comprehensive small troupes, this team is "famous", when it comes to Liu Xiaoming's Shandong Bangzi Troupe, all ten miles and eight towns know it, and even have seen their performances. 
At present, I have trained three batches of Jiagutong performance teams, and many members have become promoters of Jiagutong through learning. But the strength of a few of us alone is definitely not enough, and more young forces are needed to join us. This Spring Festival, from Pingyin to Jinan, Liu Xiaoming will lead the team to set off again to better promote and publicize the provincial intangible cultural heritage of Jiagutong. 
Speaking of his wish in 2024, Liu Xiaoming said: "I look forward to us being able to appear on more and bigger stages, so that friends in the city and even the whole country can see our filial piety and Gutong's style!" ”
In Xiaozhi Town, there are 3 teams with "earthy flavor" like Liu Xiaoming's Shandong Bangzi Troupe. They come from the grassroots, take root in the people, and are close to the masses, and through various forms of performances and stages close to life such as entering primary schools and communities, they bring the traditional art and ancient passages that were originally shelved to the people, enriching the cultural life of the masses, and condensing the powerful synergy of rural cultural revitalization with the power of moisturizing things silently. In the next step, Xiaozhi Town will continue to play a leading role, provide more supporting services for local performance teams in terms of activity development, talent training, publicity and promotion, make every effort to do a good job in the living inheritance of Jiagutong culture, and vigorously promote this ancient and new art to "go out", so as to truly make the grassroots team lively, the cultural places warm up, and the people's lives happy.