Ethnic Festivals in Yuanyang

Yuanyang is home to many ethnic minorities, including the Hani, Yi and Dai peoples, which gives rise to a rich variety of traditional festivals.

It is the grandest festival of the Hani people, equivalent to the Spring Festival of the Han people. Celebrated in the tenth lunar month, it lasts 13 days, spanning from one Dragon Day to the next Dragon Day according to the Chinese zodiac calendar. During the festival, every household slaughters chickens and pigs to offer sacrifices to ancestors, glutinous rice balls and rice cakes are made, and locals visit relatives. Married daughters also return to their parental homes for family reunions.

Also known as the "Long Dragon Banquet", it is usually held on the final day of the Hani October New Year. While some villages follow their own unique customs, all versions take place in winter. Every family sets up a table laden with food and wine along the main village road to treat villagers and visiting guests. Connected together, the rows of tables often stretch one to two kilometres, making it the longest feast in China. The Long Street Banquet in Habo Village, Eza Township, boasts the largest scale across Yuanyang County.

A Hani festival held in mid-June of the lunar calendar (roughly mid-to-late July in the Gregorian calendar) to pray for a bumper harvest. Each village slaughters cattle, holds rituals to worship mushroom-shaped stilt houses and farm tools, and cuts down a large tree to build a rotating swing. Locals dress up in bright ethnic costumes, ride the rotating swing, sing and dance, and celebrate all night long.

A traditional festival of the Yi people, celebrated over two days — the 24th and 25th days of the sixth lunar month — in Xinjie Town. Festivities include bullfighting, folk dancing and wrestling. After dark, locals carry lit torches and parade through villages to drive away pests and pray for a fruitful, joyful year. Later, people gather around bonfires to sing and dance.

The New Year celebration of the Dai ethnic group, marking the start of the Dai lunar new year. It takes place on April 12 every year in Nansha Town.