How to Make a Chinese Dragon?

Dragons are an important symbol in China, representing power and strength. Huge, colorful dragon puppets appear at festivals to bring good luck, and troupes of dancers perform the traditional dragon dance . Gather your friends to create and dance this dragon, and build your own luck! 🐉

With this guide, you'll be able to create a Chinese dragon from scratch using only your own hands. Follow the tutorial carefully, step by step, and don't miss any of the instructions. It's simple and effective, so let's get started.

Warning : Cutting cardboard can be difficult and dangerous. Ask an adult for help or guidance. To make the Chinese dragon, here is the material you will need:

• A large (cardboard) box
• Adhesive tape
• Extra box
• Carte blanche
• Red and black paint
• 4 paper cups
• 2 bulging eyes
• PVA glue (white glue for plastic)
• Pencil
• Colored card and tissue paper
• Glue stick
• Cotton wool balls
• 3 large toy hoops
• Sheet of red material, large enough to cover the hoops

Make the Chinese Dragon Head

Step 1 - Use tape to secure all the flaps and seal all the edges of the large box that will form the head of our Chinese dragon. Lay it on its side. Ask an adult to help you cut out a rectangle with a rounded base, large enough for your head to fit through.

Step 2 - Place the base of the box down. Ask an adult to help you cut the cardboard to create the mouth of our Chinese dragon. Start with a straight line roughly halfway along the side that will be the dragon's face. Cut halfway along each adjacent side, then cut into a smile shape, as shown.

Step 3 - Cut out and make the two rows of teeth for the Chinese dragon from white cardboard. Glue one of them to the top of the mouth and the other to the bottom.

Step 4 - Cut two large, fairly wide triangles from cardboard. Fold them in half at the center. Attach each half with tape along the edges of the top back corner, as shown, for the horns of the Chinese dragon. Paint the horns, the top of the box, and the back of the box red.

Craft the eyes of the Chinese Dragon

Step 5 - Paint the outside of the paper cups black. Cut two circles from cardboard, slightly smaller than the bottoms of the cups. Glue them to the bottom of two cups. Add the googly eyes of our Chinese dragon. Glue the cups to the top of the box.

Make the Chinese Dragon's Nostrils

Step 6 - On the front of the box, slightly above the mouth of the Chinese dragon, trace around the two other paper cup bases to make the dragon's nostrils. Ask an adult to help you cut out these circles, making the holes just slightly larger than the traced lines.

Step 7 - Cut the bases off the two paper cups. Gently push the cups into the holes from the outside, bottom first, until they are firmly inserted.

Make the Chinese Dragon Decoration

Step 8 - Cut long strips of colored cardstock or tissue paper into a scalloped shape, as shown. You will need enough of these strips to decorate the Chinese dragon.

Step 9 - Use a glue stick to attach the scalloped color strips to your box. Do this in rows of color, working upwards, starting with red at the bottom, then layering other colors, and finishing with red at the top.

Step 10 - Cut out two small triangle shapes from the colored card. Bend the points at 90° and glue them to the top of the box to create points. Use PVA glue to attach cotton balls around the back of the Chinese dragon's eyes.

Step 11 - Cut out strips of colored tissue paper. Use tape to stick the ends of these under the chin of the Chinese dragon.

Step 12 - Lay the red material flat on the floor. Place the three large toy hoops in a line along the material. Tape one edge of each hoop as shown.

Craft the Chinese Dragon Body

Step 13 - Ask an adult to make an arc-shaped slit at the back of the Chinese dragon's head, as shown. We will insert the fabric that will be used to make the Chinese dragon's body.

Step 14 - Push one end of the material through the slot until there is approximately 20 cm of fabric inside the head. Secure it inside the box with tape.

Absorb the Power of the Chinese Dragon

This guide on how to make a Chinese dragon is now complete. Grab your friends, then dive under the fabric and inside the box to bring your dragon to life. Before we part ways, remember that you can shop your Chinese dragon t-shirt below. Our collection is inspired by dragons and reflects their immeasurable powers through fashion.