The young man wears only shorts. He is drenched in sweat, tears welling from his eyes. As he stares straight into the blinding morning sun, he moans intermittently – clearly, he is in a great deal of pain.

A huge dragon rears its head above the man, its golden scales bathing the street in an ethereal light. Its lithe, shining body stretches through the morning traffic, surrounded by hundreds of people, most of them ethnic Chinese, dressed in white. The dragon’s fangs snap together and its head jumps onto a slowly passing pick-up truck. A crowd of drummers surrounds the vehicle.

The man tries to turn, but soon gives up.