The Peacock Dance is the most prestigious traditional performance dance among the Dai folk dances in China, which is spread in Ruili, Luxi and Xishuangbanna of Dehong Dai Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, Mengding, Menglian, Jinggu, Canyuan and other Dai inhabited areas, of which the Peacock Dance in Ruili, west of Yunnan, is the most representative one ("Galaoyong" in Dai language).
Legend has it that more than a thousand years ago, the leader of the Dai people called Ma Li Jie number of imitation of the peacock's beautiful posture and learn to dance, and then processed by successive generations of folk artists molding, passed down, the formation of the peacock dance.
The traditional peacock dance of the Dai people has a long history and has been incorporated into the rituals of religion. Peacock Dance is the favorite folk dance of the Dai people. In the dam area where the Dai people live, there are almost "pendulums" (festivals) every month and songs and dances every year. In the Dai annual "Water Festival", "Shutdown Festival", "Open Door Festival", "Catch the Pendulum" and other folk festivals, as long as it is a happy place, the Dai people will gather together, ringing the gongs, playing the drums with elephant feet, jumping up the beautiful "Peacock Dance", the sound of songs and dances presents the joyful atmosphere of the harvest and the beautiful scene of national unity.