AFP presents a reportage of 23 photos taken by photographer Jade Gao taken on January 22 and 23, 2025, of female lion dancers in Shantou, southern China's Guangdong province. Sporting furry sequinned trousers and a black training top, Lin Xinmeng flings her male teammate into the air -- part of China's world-renowned lion dance that is shrugging off centuries of patriarchal norms. Performed across China and around the world, at weddings or during business openings, it is a mainstay festivity for the Lunar New Year which which falls on January 29 this year. Search all these reportage images using CHINA-CULTURE-LNY-DANCE-LION. Search "REPORTAGE" to source all feature, magazine and photo essays. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP) / TO GO WITH: China-culture-LNY-dance-lion, REPORTAGE by Ludovic EHRET (Photo by JADE GAO/AFP via Getty Images)