Longtao generally means figurant, because they always wear Longtao robes to serve as a foil to main actors on the stage.

Pao Longtao (walk-on) gets its name because the soldiers, servants and maids in imperial palaces always wear special Longtao robes. In opera, several people on the stage wearing such robes represent tens of thousands of soldiers, citizens, etc.

In general, four people are treated as one Longtao group, and there may be one or two groups of four on the stage at the same time to represent a crowd. These men or women always follow their masters, and their appearance and disappearance are useful for indicating changes of location and atmosphere. Other conventions governing such changes include the appearance of two dragons or four doors, and the pulling off of boots. These changes are accompanied by special music or singing. In court scenes the Longtao shouts loudly to indicate the solemnity of the atmosphere.