Present day China is made up of 56 distinct tribes in all. The Han tribe is by far the largest and makes up roughly 90% of the population. Each tribe is entrenched in its own colorful unique customs and cultures.

Just like the Chinese language, Chinese dance has its own unique vocabulary, semantics, and syntactic structure that enable a dancer on stage to fully express his or her thoughts and feelings with ease and grace. Dance was also a performing art that brought pleasure to both the performers and the audience.

Chinese dance is divided into two types - folk and classical. Chinese classical dance is more elegant and movements are softer and more expressive. Chinese folk dance has two mixed elements - a theatrical form and a street dance. Like Western ballet, each movement from head to toe must be posed accurately. Hand movements, in particular, are very detailed and look graceful. The dancers move their wrists and fingers smoothly like waves. Yet, performed by the group, the dance is energetic and joyful. The dancers run and leap around the full space on stage. Chinese folk dance has more lyrical use of arms, and the energy is more flowing whereas the Western ballet is more percussive.

Folk dances depict the life of people in different provinces and heighten their spirits. Most of the dances are based on traditional folk stories and performed for harvests and celebrations. The themes of the dances may also be drawn from a variety of customs and tribal cultures. Some are religious based while others are strictly for entertainment purposes. Though often the dances may not be technically sophisticated because folk dances show activities of daily life, they are full of life and each movement is artistically put together. It's a form of entertainment for the general population.

Folk dance costumes are simple casual everyday clothes. A plain shirt and pants that go below the knee is quite typical for some tribes. However, for some of the tribes who reside in colder regions, such as Mongolia for example, the costumes are more heavy set to fit the climate and may include a hat, extra long clothing, and heavy boots. Each tribe in China has its own unique style of clothing that are quite distinct. Their costumes speaks volume about their culture and reflects their philosophy towards life, their livelihood (farmers, nomads etc.) and the environment they live in.