The Yi ethnic group has many branches. Some still live in extremely cold areas and their dances vary. The Moonlight Dance of Axi, popular in Lunan and Mile of Yunnan Province, is a kind of mass dance of Axi and Sani people of the Yi ethnic minority.

Every year, when it's time for spring ploughing, Axi people plant in the moonlight at night. This is the origin of the Moonlight Dance.

The accompanying instruments include the big Sanxian (three-stringed Chinese guitar) and the flute. Most of the music is five-eighth time. Five beats make up a phrase. The first three beats are the major melody, and in the latter two beats, the string is plucked to produce sound of "Chacha", like rhythmic jumping. Dancers are not limited in number, but they must be in pairs. In the first three beats, the dancers move forward, backward or around; while in the latter two beats, they clap their feet or hands while staying at the original places.

In the 1940s, dancers developed the original dance in the Moonlight Dance of Axi into what we see today on stage.