Guilin, as a city where ethnic minorities gather, all ethnic minorities have their own traditional festivals. These festivals are very distinctive, but few outsiders can have a detailed understanding of them, so many people want to appreciate what these ethnic minority festivals look like during their holidays. For this reason, we have compiled the ethnic minority festival activities in Guilin for everyone. Specifically, as follows:
Longji Terraced Fields Farmers Harvest Festival
Location: Longji Terraced Fields, Guilin ,China
Date: Autumn Equinox, September -October
Starting from 2018, the annual lunar autumnal equinox will be established as the "Chinese Farmers Harvest Festival". This festival is a celebration and enjoyment of a bountiful harvest for millions of farmers, as well as a vivid reflection of the bountiful harvest and national prosperity.
River Lantern Song Festival
Location: Ziyuan County, Guilin City
Date: July 13th to 15th in the lunar calendar.
In middle July, Ziyuan County local people sing and light up to express our nostalgia for our ancestors and our thoughts on disaster prevention. People spontaneously carry lanterns and float along the river, shining brightly under the night sky, forming a magnificent scene of "ten thousand river lanterns floating on the Zijiang River". During the festival, there is a wide variety of local specialties and folk snacks, including ancient folk sports and entertainment activities such as bamboo poles, lion dance, dragon dance, elephant tug of war, cockfighting, sheep fighting, and sheep and birds.
Zhuang Ethnic Ox Soul Festival
Location: Longsheng, Guilin
Date: May 50, 2020, the eighth day of the fourth lunar month
The Zhuang Ox Soul Festival, also known as the Unyoked Festival, is popular in Zhuang mountain villages in the Longsheng area of northern Guangxi. Legend has it that this day is the birthday of the Ox King. People will remove the yoke of the ox, wash its body, and graze it to a place with abundant water and grass. The cattle pen needs to be cleaned and covered with dry straw. No servitude, no whipping, and singing mountain songs to cows and feeding black rice. On that day, there was a pig killing ceremony, and the villagers gathered in the temple for a meal.
Yao Longsheng Red Clothes Festival
Location: Longji Terraced Fields， Longsheng County,Guilin
Date: April 19th or May 12th, 2019, the 15th day of the third lunar month or the 8th day of the fourth lunar month
The Red Clothes Festival is a unique ethnic festival for the Red Yao people of Longsheng. It is held annually on the 15th day of the third lunar month or the 8th day of the fourth lunar month in Zhaina (Sishui Township) or at the foot of Longji Mountain. The Red Clothes Festival has a long history. As early as the Yuan Dynasty, the Red Yao compatriots, dressed in festive attire and carrying their own local products, came to Tears Street in pairs to hold a grand festival event on the 15th day of the third lunar month every year. Unmarried young people take the opportunity to sing mountain songs and blow wood leaves on this day, and meet their crush with elegant and beautiful love songs. Traditional programs such as long jump drum dance, sports competitions, hair contests, and flower evaluations will also be held, as well as folk sports activities such as pole tying, tug of war, and flag raising.
March 3rd Song Festival
Location: Guilin
Date: April 7th, 2019, the third day of the third lunar month
The third day of the third lunar month, also known as the "Fairy Song Festival" or "Song Immortal Festival", is an important festival for ethnic minorities such as Zhuang, Han, Yao, Miao, and Dong in Guangxi. Its status in the hearts of the local people is no less than the Spring Festival. On this day, ethnic minority families make five colored glutinous rice and dye red eggs to commemorate their ancestors and entertain family and friends. The song festival usually lasts for two to three days each time, with unmarried young men and women as the main body of the duet. Beside the song fair, vendors gather and folk goods are widely circulated, with crowds and singing voices echoing one after another. People go to the song fair to compete and appreciate songs; Young men and women sing duets, and if both parties are in agreement, they give each other tokens as a token of affection. In addition, there are fun activities such as throwing embroidered balls and touching Easter eggs. The Song Festival is a grand event for people's trade and the promotion of national culture. Starting from 2014, the People's Government of the Autonomous Region designated March 3rd as the Ethnic Art Festival in Guangxi and took a two-day holiday as a public holiday in the region.
Dong ethnic fireworks festival
Location: Fulu Town, Sanjiang County, Guilin City
Date: April 7th, 2019. Dong ethnic groups in various regions celebrate Fireworks Festival at different times. The Fireworks Festival on the third day of the third lunar month in Fulu Town, Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County is the most representative
On the day of the Fireworks Festival, the Dong ethnic group will set off fireworks. The first one represents a prosperous population, the second one represents congratulations on getting rich, and the third one represents a bountiful harvest. After the fireworks event, young men and women gathered together to play the lusheng and dance. At night, light a bonfire, there are people singing Dong opera, there are people singing freely, and there is a lot of laughter and joy.
Gongcheng Peach Blossom Festival
Location: Gongcheng County , Guilin City
Date: From the end of February to early March each year
Every February and March, the annual Peach Blossom Festival is held in Gongcheng County, where peach blossoms are in full bloom. During the Peach Blossom Festival, villagers sing and dance, dance with dance buddies, and express their emotions through flowers. They "appreciate the peach blossoms in the city, live in ecological homes, eat green food, and be a joyful fairy." It is an excellent place for tourists to go out and admire the flowers, and experience the strong atmosphere of spring.