Hometown of Mango’ Cultural Tourism Festival”永德芒果节

Date: 14-16 July
Place: Yongde county seat, Lincang Municipality

It is the annual event of Yongde County in the west of Yunnan Province. Themed mango, the festival includes a series of activities such as folk cultural performances, mango carnival, and trade fair, and so on.

Sangzhaoli Festival of the Limi Ethnic People in Yongde County,Lincang

 Limi is a branch of the Yi Minority living in the remote mountainous areas of Yongde County of Lincang Municipality. Each lunar February 15 sees the Limi People head to Qingren Valley for bath and romance, and offer gifts to each other. It’s locally believed that any romance and then marriage on this day will lead to eternal love and domestic harmony. 

Subconsciously, the Limi People believe that marriage is based on loyalty and purity though husband and wife are not totally confined to each other because both of them have set aside space for either emotion or freedom. Sangzhaoli Festival is just the “outlet” for this kind of space; meeting ex-girl/boy friend is not deemed “disloyalty” by both husband and wife. However, life has to go back to normal after Sangzhaoli Festival is over.      

Sangzhaoli Festival has served as a platform and window to showcase the culture of the Mili People. 

“New Rice Festival”

The Wa nationality is a farming nationality. Their productive forces were low in the past and their capacity of resisting natural disasters was comparatively weak. So many sacrifice offering activities on respecting gods and praying for good luck were formed around agricultural product. Some activities became established practice gradually and developed into festivals. The “New Rice Festival” is one of them.”New Rice Festival” is the day when paddy is mature and people celebrate happily good harvest and taste new rice. Because of different climate, the maturity time of grain in different places is different, so the time to celebrate the festival is not unified among villages or even every household. But it was often held in the seventh or eighth lunar month (the ninth or tenth month in Wa calendar) in the past. The date is determined according to the maturity situation of grain or the day, which has the same name with any one of the 12 symbolic animals when the parents or grandparents died. The intention is to invite ghosts of ancestors to return back, taste new rice together with family members, and enjoy happiness together. They also ask the ancestors’ souls in heaven to protect their descendants and promise happy family, good weather for the crops and good harvest. In order that Wa compatriots in different places could celebrate the “New Rice Festival” together, in 1991, the Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County and Ximeng Wa Autonomous County decided together that the “New Rice Festival” is fixed on the 14th of the eighth lunar month for Was.

Dai Culture 

The Dais have a rich and colorful culture. They have their own calendar, which started in 638AD. There are books in Dai script for calculating solar and lunar eclipses. Dai historical documents carry a rich variety of literary works covering poetry, legends, stories, fables and children’s tales. They love singing and dancing, accompanied by their native musical instruments.

Dai festivals, closely related to religious activities, included the Door-Closing Festival in mid-June by the lunar calendar, the Door-Opening Festival in mid-September, and the Water-Splashing Festival in spring. The Door-Closing Festival starts three months of intensive religious activities, marking the beginning of normal life. The Water-Splashing Festival, still held every year, is the most important festival, during which the Dais splash water on one another, and hold dragon-boat races in the hope of chasing away all the illnesses and bad fortune of the past year and bringing about good weather and bumper harvests.

In Three Kingdoms Zhenkang belonged to Yizhou of Yongchang County . In Western Jin Dynasty Belonged  to the southern Liangzhou in Yongchang county. The Department is in Zhouzhi sui.

Song Dali, changed for Cannes, is Yongchang Palace .  Shaosheng three years (1096), Zhenkang belonged  to the Cannes and Yongchang Fuqing dian.

At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty along the Ming Dynasty, Zhenkang Province  belong to Toshu . Shunzhi sixteen years (1659) Zhenkang for reducing soil  to scattered state Yongchang, a military and civilian government. Yong Zheng eight years (1730), Yongchang Palace belongec to Yi Road west. Thirty-four years Guangxu (1908), Zhenkang, began the policy that called “Gaitu Guiliu”. Thirty-four years Guangxu (1908), Zhenkang (soil), Zhisuo moved from Yongkang to Germany party. Xuantong two years (1910), Zhenkang Committee Yong Kangzhou Still,beled to  Yongchang.
In two years (1913), Yongkang county and the town changed.In three years (1914), the road to vault Road, Zhenkang County Tengyue road. In eighteen years (1929), cut the road directly under the province. In thirty-one years (1942), the chief inspector of the Fifth District (in Shun county ). Thirty-seven years of the Republic of China (1948), Yunnan Province, the chief inspector of the ninth district (county in Burma).
April 5, 1950, May, the peaceful liberation of Zhenkang County; Zhenkang County People’s government was formally established, in the county German town Party Li, Baoshan area.

In 1952, the establishment of  Zhenkang County area. In 1954, the area just changed its name to the Lincang area,.Zhenkang County, under the Lincang area.
1970, Lincang area change Lincang area to  Zhenkang County, belonged to Lincang area.

In 2001 December, Zhenkang County People’s Government moved  to Nansan town .

A Suse Yunnan Folk Dance “阿数瑟”打歌

If you come to zhenkang, be sure to watch the “A Suse” YunNan Folk Dance “ . You must learn to the “A Suse YunNan Folk Dance “ .In A  Suse  YunNan Folk Dance (阿数瑟打歌) ,you can enjoy a variety ofunique local characteristics tune , Farmers embrace the three – stringed(三弦), flute(笛子), blow Lusheng(吹芦笙), play the suona.(吹唢呐). “A Suse” YunNan Folk Dance (“阿数瑟”打歌)can be seen everywhere in Zhenkang.

Multinationality  culture  多民族文化

Zhengkang is a county inhabited by many ethnic groups,such as Dai(傣),Jingpo(傈僳),Miao(苗),Deang(德昂),Bai(白),Lahu(拉祜),Bulang(布朗) ethnic groups. There are 8 kinds of ethnic minority ,the population is 39378, accounting for 24.8 percent of the county. Zhenkang  enjoy rich culture , has a long history and with age-old cultural traditions. Most of them with their own narrative poems, songs and love songs,also there are various nationalities myths, legends and folktales .Every nation has a deep love with tree,when you come into Zhengkang county you can see the dense forests, beautiful simplicity of folk customs and folk songs first, as if to see a harmony landscape between man and nature.

Bulang  Culture 布朗文化

With a population of 17,935, the Deang ethnic minority lives exclusively in Yunnan Province and primarily in Luxi and Zhenkang Counties, along with Dai(傣族), Jingpo（景颇）, and Wa ethnic minorities.

Language: 
Their language is a branch of Mon-Khmer group of the Austro-Asiatic phylum. They have no traditional written language, so some of people use the written Chinese language along with that of the Dai and Jingpo languages.

Crafts: 
The Deang people are skilled craftsmen, Silversmiths cast bracelets, fasteners, necklace, and tobacco pipes; women can also spin, dye and weaving cloth, with bright Deang characteristics – simple but delicate.

Food and Food Culture: 
The Deang ethnic minority’s staple food is rice, supplemented with corn, wheat and legume. They like to grow tea and to drink dense tea, which won them fame as ‘old tea peasants’, – they take great pride in their unique tea culture. When they visit relatives, propose marriage, welcome friends, and even when they ask for forgiveness, they will offer tea to show their regard. Another way of enjoying tea is to chew a kind of wet tea which helps cool in scorching summer.

Religion: 
Influenced by the Dai ethnic minority, Deang people are faithful to Hinayana, a sect of Buddhism. Boys of less than 10 years old are sent to the temples to become monks, learning sutras. Most of them are secularized after several years, with only few promoted as Buddha who are highly esteemed as both educated and knowledgeable. Meanwhile, they also worship the original gods, such as Dragon King, God of Mountain, God of Land, etc.

Festivals: 
Similar to the Dai ethnic minority, the Deang people also treat the Water-splashing, Door-opening and Door-closing Festivals as ceremonial days.

Wa Culture 佤文化

House of Wa 

The Wa ethnic minority lives primarily in the counties of Ximeng, Cangyuan and Menglian in Yunnan Provinces. According to the census of 2000, they have a population of 396,610.

Language and Character:
Their language belongs to the Mon-Khmer group of the Austro-Asiatic phylum, and can be divided into three dialects. The Chinese government helped the Wa to create a written formal language in 1957, since there were no characters that were widely used.

Belief:
Years ago, they believed in the power of natural things and thought all things have their spirits, including for example water, mountain, and wood. The mightiest god was called ‘Muyiji’, and his five sons were the ancestors of the Wa. In recent years, some of the Wa have become followers of Buddhism and Christianity.

Food:

They  live mainly on agriculture. The staple of their diet is rice, and they like to chew betel nuts and drink wine. The food is prepared with spicy flavors. They regard wine as a necessity when they host guests or their elders. During festivals, young men will toast girls with a special wine that is held in a bamboo tube, and girls will drink it through a straw.

Taboos:
There are several taboos that guests should be aware of so that when they visit a Wa family, they will not offend their hosts. For example, the guests should not ride into a Wa village on a horse; they should not touch other’s head or ear; and Wa girls will not accept a guests’ gift if it is an adornment.

Clothes:

They favor the colors red and black, so their clothes are usually black with red decorations. Men’s coat and trousers are short and broad, and they all like bare feet. Besides, they like to take knife and bamboo necklace. Women’s clothes are more beautiful. They wear necklaces and bracelets, most of which are made of bamboo or silver. Their ear rings are very distinctive for the complex style incorporating shining silver rings with bird bones and shells. As the Wa women love very long hair, they incorporate their hair into their dances which highlights their charm.

Other Customs: 
Every time there is great event or festival, the Wa people will hold the Piaoniu ceremony, In this ceremony, they kill an ox, divide its meat amongst all the families for sacrifice to their ancestors. The ox bone is given to the host of the ceremony and symbolizes wealth. This ceremony is symbolic of their wish for peace and great harvest.

Festival

The Water-splashing Festival is held mid cycle of the fourth lunar month, with a duration of three to five days. On that grand day, all the people rally in the temples, listen to sutras and clean the statue of Buddha with the purest water. After, while singing and dancing, they splash water to each other which is the ritual way to give greetings. They are quite adept at Wushu, this is also an entertainment. As this is a very polite minority, in their families, the juniors will clean the feet of their seniors.

The Door-opening and Door-closing Festivals are also related to Buddhism. From the fifteenth day of the ninth month according to the Dai calendar, to the fifteenth day of the last month, the ‘Buddha’ will not go out and walk in temples; disciples will supply them with food, flowers, and money. Only after the Door opening Festival will they return to their regular way of life

Name linked between father & son and clan system

The name linked between father and son system is a method of naming by linking father’s and son’s names, which appeared at the transition period from matri-clan system to patri-clan system. It used to be popular or is still popular among Yis, Hanis, Drungs, Was, Jingpos, Nus, Miaos, Uygurs and Kazaks.

The name system of Yis derivate from father to son, which means father’s name is ahead of son’s name. The last one or two syllables of the father’s name are added before the son’s name, and the last one or two syllables are added before the grandson’s name. Thus their names are all linked with one another generation after generation. People can recite ancestors and pedigrees to tens of or even one hundred of generations, such as Apu Juma-Juma Denglun-Denglun Wuwu-Wuwu Gengzi-Gengzi Gengyan-Gengyan Ayi-Ayi Aqu-Aqu Libu¡­

The name system of Yis is not only a kind of naming method. It also connects with clan system closely. It is oral family tree which forms and remembers clan and pedigree, and is an important way to make clear blood tie of clan and to guarantee the patrilineal descending principle to property. In the past, every Yi family paid much attention to its family tree, and men must remember and recite it clearly.

Clan system is a traditional social political and economic system of Yis. Before the foundation of new China, it was popular in the Liangshan Yi region. The clan is a patrilineal blood group, and is composed of clan, branch and single family. Every clan has its family tree passed on for generations, the names in which are linked between father and son, and the family tree is named with a common male ancestors or a place name. Every clan has its common and fixed gathering scope, and common forest, pasture, barren hills and marshland. All members of the clan have the obligation to assist one another and to revenge for one another. Every clan has varied number of headmen, and inside and outside affairs are discussed and dealt with by headmen and affair discussing meeting of the clan. Intermarry is prohibited. Because united and stable political power organization didn’t come into being in Liangshan Yi society, the clan becomes the basic social organization of the Yi society, and it functions as a local political power organization to some extent. What’s more, the clan system and slavery hierarchy system are connected with each other closely. The Black Yi clans occupy a dominant position, and the White Yi clans are subordinated to the Black Yi clans. 

Before the establishing of the new China, clan played a very important role in Yi society. Liangshan Yi saying goes like this: “Fish relies on water; Bee relies on mountain rock; Monkey relies on forest; People rely on clan.” “Cattle and sheep are indispensable; Grain is indispensable; Clan is indispensable.” From 1956 to 1958, the democratic reform movement was carried out in Liangshan region, slave-owning system was eliminated thoroughly, and clan system was abolished along with it. But until now, people’s awareness of clan hasn’t disappeared completely.

Talking about love through “visiting girls”

Most of the Was establish their marriage through free courtship. They usually get married at about 20, and the husband is usually older than the wife. But young fellows and girls can begin to take part in social intercourse and entertaining activities for talking about love since 15 or 16. This kind of courtship activity is commonly called “visiting girls”.

“Visiting girls” is carried out by groups of people. Independent action is rare before the love relationship is formally determined. Men take the initiative all along in the activity.

Visiting is mainly done at night. It has no fixed site and is usually held in girl’s home. When the night has fallen, fellows and girls gather in 3 or 5. Young fellows go to girl’s home while playing three-stringed instrument and flute, where the girls are waiting for them. They all sing, dance and send tobacco and betel nut to one another. The men and women comb hair for one another, laugh and frolic, cast amorous glances and pour out their bosom feelings. After the fellow takes a fancy to some girl through visiting for many times, he will send some presents to her, such as bracelet, necklace, comb and scarf. If the girl doesn’t return the presents back in several days or a period of time, he can firmly believe that the girl only loves him and is willing to be his lover. Girls refuse nobody and accept all presents without caring who is the sender. Because they think that if more fellows send presents to them, it shows their conditions like appearance and moral quality are better and they feel more glorious. Girls’ parents will also feel happy and proud of their daughter if more people come to visit her. Presents will be returned back to the fellow soon if a girl doesn’t want to develop deeper relationship with a guy. Some fellow grabs away the girl’s adornments or scarf to indicate he is proposing marriage to her if he takes a fancy to some girl during visiting. At that moment, no matter the girl agrees or not, she will shout loudly and pretend to resist. If the girl doesn’t go to ask for her adornments, it shows that she has accepted the proposing.

The guy and the girl who have decided their love relationship will separate from the groups and begin to contact each other alone. And then the fellow begins to ask matchmaker to propose marriage formally, and they get engaged and married.

Clubs / Bars / Nightlife

Jingui Recreation Club金柜娱乐会所

Address:Gongyuan Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan,云南省临沧市耿马县公园路附近

 1.09 miles

www.dianping.com

Huayang Nianhua Recreation Club 花样年华娱乐会所

Address: Renmin Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan. 临沧市耿马人民路

Tel :0883-6125511

www.dianping.com 

Feida Recreation Club飞达娱乐会所

Addres: Gongyuan Rd,Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan. 临沧市耿马公园路

Tel: 0883-6126316

 FEOSO Mingsha Restaurant

Addresss: Gongyuan Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan.

 Gengyin Food Garden耿坎食苑

Addres :Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, , China

Beimiao Mutton Restaurant 北庙羊肉馆

Adress:Aihua Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China.

Yelaji Restaurant 也辣鸡饭店

Adress:Gongyuan Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China.

Daiwei 傣之味

Address: Aihua RD,Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China.

 阿友烧烤店 Ayou Barbecue

Address:Aihua Rd,Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China,云南省临沧市耿马爱华路 

Tel:13988339890

Romantic Xiangyue Western-Style Food Wu浪漫相约西餐屋

Address:Jingyi  Road,, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China.云南省临沧市景戈路附近

www.dianping.com

 Coffee & Ice Cream 

Shataolang Tea House 沙淘浪茶室

Adderss:Renmin Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China.临沧市耿马县人民路北段 

 Yimi Sunny Tea House 一米阳光茶楼

Address: Renmin Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China临沧市耿马人民路云南省临沧市耿马傣族佤族自治县人民路32号

 Xilou Tea House  西楼茶室

Address:Qingnian Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan.云南省临沧市耿马傣族佤族自治县青年路

 Tourist Spots

Gengma youth activity center耿马青少年活动中心

Address:Jilong Garden Gengma, Lincang, 临沧市耿马吉龙花园

 Gengma County senior center耿马县老年人活动中心

Address:Cross road of Zhenxin Road and Qingnian road in Gengma云南省临沧市耿马县震新路与青年路交叉口

 Shopping Malls

Anxiang Clothing And Accessories

Address:Qingnian Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan.

 Xianhui Clothing And Accessories Boutique

Address:Qingnian Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China.

 Taiwan LTWFRANE Clothing and Accessories

Address:Desheng Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China.

 Yongkang Clothing And Accessories

Address:Qingnian Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China.

 a.YiLian

Address:Qingnian Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China,

 Sunny Clothing And Accessories

Address:Jianshe Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China.

 Nanrenwei Clothing And Accessories

Address:Jianshe Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China.

 K-Boxing

Address:Qingnian Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China.

 Movies / Game Zones / Activities

Gengma Cinema

Address:Gonyuan Rd and  Laojie Road Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan,云南省临沧市公园路与老街交接

 Gyms / Sports / Yoga

China Sports Lottery

Address:Gongyuan Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan.

Hair salons / Spas

 Huixin Foot Massage Chamber 汇鑫足部按摩室

Address:Gongyuan Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan. China.

Tel：0883-6126316

 Linghan Hairdressing Style Chamber

Address：Aihua Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China, Lincang, Yunnan, China

City Beauty Wind

 Address:Qingnian Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China, Lincang, Yunnan, China

 Liangzi Foot Massage Leisure Club

Address:Jingge Rd, Gengma, Lincang, Yunnan, China.

 Other activities

 Peacock Dance

The famous Peacock Dance is notable for its undulating arm and torso motions, as well as several steps that imitate peacock behaviors. These include strolling, looking for water, peering about, bathing, drying the wings and spreading the tail feathers, as well as flying from the nest. These motions are usually interspersed with free-form dance movements decided upon by the performer.

Water Splashing Festival（泼水节)

The Dai calendar starts with the Water Splashing Festivalwhich occurs during Chinese New Year. This is the first Buddhist festival of the year, as well as the most important Dai festival. Several tours are available to allow tourists to see this interesting event, which lasts for three days.

The first two days of the festival are marked by dragonboat competitions designed as a method of saying goodbye to the old year. The last day of the Water Splashing Festival is for lucky activities that will welcome the new year and guarantee good luck throughout it.

Early in the morning, everyone in a town or village takes a ceremonial bath, changes into new clothes and goes to the temple. There, they build a tower of sand, which they arrange themselves around to listen to Buddhist scripture. A statue of the Buddha is then carried out into the temple yard and splashed, or bathed, by the women of the village.

This is followed by a playful splashing of water, especially among the younger members of the community. This can involve anyone who might be passing by. The water is thought to bring good luck for the new year to anyone who is splashed, and will usually be accompanied by congratulations.

Take one of our Minority Discovery Tours to experience Dai culture or tailor-make your own tour to see .

craftsmanship culture

Known products in Gengma are : Mangtuan White  cotton paper of Dai(傣族的芒团白棉纸),  MongYong  soil pot   (勐永土锅), embroidered shoes,(绣花鞋) Wa Wengda drum piers（佤族的翁达鼓墩） the cow blanket(牛肚毯)all with distinctive national characteristics and rich traditional style.

· 

Dance Cultures

Unique dance culture, and Dai’s dance choreography in Gengma that is, towel dance (手巾舞) water dance  cage elephant – foot Drum Dance(象脚鼓舞), , double  dance including the  white elephant dance(白象舞)  deer dance马鹿舞.A solo dance that is, the butterfly dan and peacock dance(孔雀舞),Wa people’s wooden dance(木古舞)Bisong Dance(毕颂舞),Lusheng dance(芦笙舞),Hair Dance(甩发舞） , Sanxian dance(三弦舞) and so on.

The Va ethnic minority culture

The Va ethnic minority, with a population of 396,610, lives in  Gengma,Ximeng, Cangyuan, Menglian, Lancang, Shuangjiang, Zhenkang and Yongde counties in southwestern Yunnan Province.Frequent religious activities were held to obtain protection from deities and ghosts. Every year the activities started with making sacrifices to the deity of water, praying for good weather and good harvests. Cattle were carved up and their tails cut off as offerings.  “Latou,” or the hunting of human head, remnant of the primitive customs, had been abolished with the influence of the more advanced neighboring ethnic minorities.Apart from sacrificial ceremonies held by the whole village, many families also held their own sacrificial offerings. These involved chickens, pigs or oxen and cost a lot of wealth and time. It was estimated that the Vas in this area spent onethird of their yearly income on religion and superstition, and the amount of labor wasted averaged 60 days per capita annually. 

Dai cultural

The Dai, also sometimes spelled Tai, are among 55 officiallylisted Chinese ethnic minorities in China, a country dominated by the Han. They live primarily in the southwestern part of the country, and have their own distinct customs and language. The Dai ethnic group is made up of several smaller groups who live in Gengma,Yunxian, Cangyuan in Lincang.

 Dai cultural differences include an alphabetic writing system separate from the characterbased Chinese script. This method of writing has five branches, which are used throughout the Chinese Dai communities. The Dai also have a strong focus on dance, including their famous Peacock Dance,(孔雀舞) and are Buddhists.Dai culture includes many songs and dances, the most popular of which include the Drum Dance(象脚舞） Peacock Dance and Lion Dance. Most dances are accompanied by the elephant foot drum, named for its shape, which can be played by anyone. These drums are relatively long and made of hollowed logs covered with sheep or python skin, then painted bright colors and ornamented with peacock feathers. The drums include a ribbon or strap that allow dancers to sling the instruments over their shoulders, playing as they dance.

 A. Peacock Dance in Gengma 孔雀舞

The famous Peacock Dance is notable for its undulating arm and torso motions, as well as several steps that imitate peacock behaviors. These include strolling, looking for water, peering about, bathing, drying the wings and spreading the tail feathers, as well as flying from the nest. These motions are usually interspersed with free-form dance movements decided upon by the performer.

 B .Water Splashing Festival of Gengma 泼水节

The Dai calendar start with the Water Splashing Festivalwhich occurS during Chinese New Year. This is the first Buddhist festival of the year, as well as the most important Dai festival. Several tours are available to allow tourists to see this interesting event, which lasts for three days.

The first two days of the festival are marked by dragonboat competitions designed as a method of saying goodbye to the old year. The last day of the Water Splashing Festival is for lucky activities that will welcome the new year and guarantee good luck throughout it.

Early in the morning, everyone in a town or village takes a ceremonial bath, changes into new clothes and goes to the temple. There, they build a tower of sand, which they arrange themselves around to listen to Buddhist scripture. A statue of the Buddha is then carried out into the temple yard and splashed, or bathed, by the women of the village.

This is followed by a playful splashing of water, especially among the younger members of the community. This can involve anyone who might be passing by. The water is thought to bring good luck for the new year to anyone who is splashed, and will usually be accompanied by congratulations.

Take one of ourYunnan Adveuture to experience Dai culture or tailor-make your own tour to see .

A Washan Hotels阿佤山大酒店

Address：Guangchang Road on Cangyuang County.

Tel ：0883-7122888

Dihao Bar帝豪酒吧

Address:：Cangyuan  Countyin  Lincang .

Tel:18788339111

Wa  Wanfu Teahouse佤王府茶楼

Address：No,162 Guangchang Road on Cangyuang County.

Tel：0883-7123919

Wa is an age-old and mysterious minority with strong people. And the people there have worked hard for more than 3000 years and have created its unique glorious culture. Come Cangyuan you can join the ethnic festivals，such as Monihei Carnival of the Wa Ethnic Group (摸你黑狂欢节)，Hair-swaying Dance(甩发舞)，buffalo-butchering ceremony（剽牛） enjoy the unique folk custom of Wa people ,also learn the Wa culture- Cangyuan cliff painting.

Monihei Carnival of the Wa Ethnic Group (摸你黑狂欢节)

There are some ethnic festivals in Cangyuan  ,Monihei Carnival of the Wa Ethnic Group in Cangyuan County is the most popular one in Lincang.Wa minority’s “Monihei Carnival” (“Monihei” in Chinese means “making you black by smearing something on your body”.) in Sigangli Village (司岗里)will be ceremoniously held in Wa Autonomous County-Cangyuan from May 2nd and May 3rd. The activities of the Carnival mainly involve a grand opening ceremony of song and dance performance — “heavy colored Wa Mountain “, ethnic arts tour to be joined by the audience and tourists, a crazy and passionate “making you black” activity with tens of thousand of persons’ participation, ancient cliff painting worship, songs about life in Wa Mountain, Campfire party, Wa songs concert and This Carnival will last for several days which is full of surprise and expectation.

Wa is an age-old and mysterious minority with strong people. And the people there have worked hard for more than 3000 years and have created its unique glorious culture. As one of the only two Chinese Wa autonomous Counties, Cangyuan County has 3000 year-old cliff painting, Nan’gunhe Nature Reserve, highly-protected original ecologies and abundant animal and plant resources.

 It is said this festival takes its meaning from the custom that the people smear the pot ash, ox blood and mud on other persons’ face to frighten the evils and seek peace. The players can use natural paints to smear each other and pray for each other. As a traditional custom of the minorities in China, “Monihei Carnival” has attracted a lot of tourists both from home and abroad.

 Until now, “Monihei Carnival” has been held for 5 times, whose echo is quite well, thus be listed in top 10 national festivals in Yunnan, which are the most amazing and influential festivals in Yunnan. Join us and enjoy youself. You will never forget the experience in Cangyuan.

Hair-swaying Dance(甩发舞)

 A show of Wa feminine beauty The Hair-swaying Dance reveals the Wa female beauty and symbolizes their maturity. Wa women traditionally keep long hair, and put on Hair-swaying Dance hand in hand without musical instruments. Come Cangyuan Hair-swaying Dance(甩发舞)is indispensable  activities .

Buffalo-butchering ceremony（剽牛节）

Replacement of Head Custom In old times,Was used to have the head custom, using the heads of men to make sacrifice to the God of Rice. But it has been replaced by buffalo heads that are also a symbol of wealth. On an important ceremony will hold a buffalo-butchering ceremony.

Cangyuan cliff painting(沧源崖画)

Cangyuan cliff painting is one of the oldest so far discovered . 1965 , 1978 and 1981 have been found Yahua (崖画)11 locations , mainly in the province cangyuan county Meng , meng to two townships, something about the cloth in the range of 20 kilometers . According to the determination , cliff painting produced in three thousand years ago, the late Neolithic period ,these cliff painting has been listed as key cultural relics in Yunnan province .

 1）introduction

cangyuan ancient Chinese minorities petroglyphs . Wa autonomous county of Yunnan province, located in the province of Meng , man pa , ding years, Wu liang and other 10 over 2000 meters above sea level on a cliff about 3,000 years ago . With your fingers or feathers dipped in red paint to wipe plotted, animal blood pigment may be made to reconcile hematites.  Yahua  mainly scenes hunting, gathering and other production activities and entertainment of god and other religious activities. There are wars triumph map,painted dry-column on housing construction and hand-held weapons , driving people deserved victory swine and sheep painted rough quaint , southern research is an important ancient ethnic history.

2）Content

 Content of the rock paintings are one of the oldest cliff painting found in our country at present , resulting in 3,000 years, the rock paintingslate Neolithic ago. 11 locations have been found cliff painting , distributed to rural Yunnan province Meng cangyuan county , ding to the township , full canton township, hepling township and mount light township Gengma county and other places, the generally cliff at an altitude of 1500 meters of gray limestone cliff on the drawing painted in red ocher , the local Wa called ” dye code farm “, which means painted rock yahua around the point of the picture from the high ground about 2 to 10 meters , painting an area of 1 to 30 m long , ranging frame into several smaller ones scattered graphic composition , and the larger the number of images to hundreds of animals 187 , houses 25 , road 13 , a variety of ideographic symbols 35 ; still trees, boats sun , clouds, mountains , land and other images, graphic depiction of the characters are shouzheng hundred lawyers in monochrome and single- plus ping tu le , save facial features and other details drawn silhouette style tactics , are engaged in various activities through a great variety of limbs performance figures . These images have a certain multi- center content , including hunting , herding , dance, go home , entertainment and other content, real and vivid record of the ancestors of the production of various scenes of life. 

3)features

cangyuan vary with duration of sunshine , weather confront , wet and dry heating and other factors constantly changing color, local Wa and Dai people say it is ” day three variants , early afternoon, light red late purple “

The first yahua point : the scope of the largest and most graphic , ” headhunting “” cow hunting ” breathtaking .

The first yahua point is located 20 kilometers north county Meng cangyuan to villagers at good xiazhai here yahua points cangyuan

cloth largest and the most graphic . Mengdong (勐董)valley northward along both sides of vast mountains , the forest of coverage, a bay silk mountains flying along the winding mountain road , came along the mountain ‘s plateau, poke shortage ancient vine rattan, moss stitch marks through the rain , hidden in the green ocean cliff , in front of people . The face of the cliff hidden when scarlet graphics, breathtaking power surge , deeply shocked people’s hearts.This side of the cliff , the surface is more smooth , upper part of the building rock , cliff face painted with figures and animals. overall, painting figures , animals are not drawn detail, painted only its outline , and stressed that a rich feature organ, highlighting the horns of cattle , monkeys prominent chin ; deer significant figures bifurcation angle …… facial features are not drawn, only the head , neck, torso and limbs, trunk will be inverted triangle . Some people see at a glance are male, because highlighting the genitals ; some women are prominent breasts or pregnant .

In the first yahua point , up to the performance of the content is hunting . naughty monkeys on a “v” -shaped rattan jumping up and down , some people armed with horns , some people bow and arrow , and some people perform sticks and beast stroke play . On the rugged mountain curves , there are three long-tailed animals walking two hunter ambush on both sides , showing lateral , cited bows . there are also reflected in the nature of the original self-entertainment dance , on behalf of the ground on a horizontal line, standing six people , three people in a group , there is a certain distance between the two groups , six people will be exalted his left arm , right arm drooping, leans to the right , legs apart , the action is very neat. in addition, there reflects the original religious content of ” head-hunting dance ” and ” cow hunting dance .”

Second yahua point : interesting content , graphic special to celebrate triumph, special characters.

Mengdong(勐董) valley northward along hading can come township, here is the second number yahua points. One piece is very interesting village map , it drew an oblong representative range of villages , which has 14 dry-column houses outside the village there is one. drew a few lines outside the village , probably represents the winding road , there are many people on the road , or driving swine and sheep and other animals, or shoulder thing , gathered from all over the village . There is a small house- Zhaiwai , the highest tree, play the role of caretaker and outlook . Some analysts , this may be the first war , the people and go with a trophy triumph. There are two particularly striking figure , a man the spiral pattern over the body , not the underwear , showing their tattoos ; beside the man’s chest also has a geometric pattern .

scenic natural scenery , forests and verdant, lush vegetation, rock everywhere, gurgling streams , rich ancient folk sentiments history culture and unique customs of ethnic minorities has attracted many domestic and foreign tourists , is highly ornamental and entertaining tourist attractions.

3)reason

summarizes the rock paintings of reason analysis is by no means a single creative motivation , various genres may have different creative purposes, but to sum up, no more than two terms , one is religious, one is the original memos.

First: alog witchcraft and religion -related products. People believe in the people around to catch the cliff paintings,stabbed in the image you want to hunt animals , will make future hunting success. Man fell to the ground on the cliff paintings , will make future wars enemy is really dead.

Second, pray for fertility rituals legacy . On the cliff paintings pull cattle bovine or human , is to mountain natural breeding herd very well , you can pull back en masse for ritual purposes ; painting images of wild animals is to hunt have won ; draw crowds dancing humanoid in the hope that agricultural harvest, could be held a grand banquet , guests at his door , come merry . The original clan refers not only to pray for bumper production development , including their reproduction. Cangyuan outstanding performance in the sexual organs of men and women , as well as dense crowd , or have such significance.

Third, worship gods portrait polytheistic beliefs of primitive peoples that whenever natural phenomena ( earth , celestial , mountains, fire, water ) and even some animals have a living god , objects are considered to have the gods can bless people can Yi curse to others in order to turn a curse for the blessing , we must continue to worship , ritual and worship. Rock paintings ,the trees , plants, caves and some bizarre humanoid (with ” treasure ” who was tall distinctive …… ) and animal significant position , they should be at that time for worship and painting.

Fourth, an important ritual depicted after some peoples hold a solemn religious ceremony , but also the process of drawing down. This is not the posters, mainly to the sight of god, and the rock paintings in some fancy dancing humanoid ( such as head feathers were inserted , wearing feathers were ) and some pull cattle and other images that live the religious activities.

1)    Significant events recorded memos nature. the most obvious place is the second village map , where the outlook is entirely reflected in people’s real life , and no other picture that mysterious supernatural religious atmosphere .

2)Myths and legends of the records, some people like the rock paintings inhuman image ( ” sun people ” ” fish man ” ) , or the right time to spread the myth or mythological figures depicted . In short, when people on the cliff painting sustenance of life expectations and enthusiasm. Today, local ethnic groups are considered immortal lived behind the cliff .Fairy came out ,people will be able to see on the precipice of their image; fairy back ” rest ” on the precipice of sight ( and indeed cliff painting or hidden or due to light shade ),fairy can bless people , so every new year, the people going to the nearby village worship ; also in case of illness and lost property , but also to seek immortal ” help .” the first investigation , they saw a woman lost four yuan wa , fairy guidelines seek to find ways here .

 3)In addition, in the second place , the small cliff behind the legend to Wa possession of treasures , cliff painting is a ” treasure ” apparitions due. Ding village Wa had to dig in the area, because there is no income after discontinued . Since the roots of the second place there is a hole in the cliff,which was excavated ruins. cangyuan vary with duration of sunshine , weather confront , wet and dry heating and other factors constantly changing color, local Wa and Dai people say it is “day three variants , early afternoon, light red , late change purple . ” for the second batch of provincial key cultural relics protection units.

4) Now listed as the fifth national key cultural relics protection units.

The rock paintings are multi-ethnic study of primitive life in Yunnan valuable information . From the cliff painting is divided into characters, objects , houses, animals and mythological figures , nature, symbol , fingerprints seven categories. rich in content, images varied and involve all aspects of primitive social life, style is very vivid, can be described as an encyclopedia of all ethnic groups in Yunnan primitive society, today’s cultural and artistic creation also has important reference and enlightenment .

Wending Wa Orinigal Ethnic Villages 翁丁原始村落

Wengding Wa ethnic village of Cangyuan County was honoured “Top 10 Cultural Village of China”, at the Second Conference on Cultural Industry and Urban Development of China, recently held in Pujiang County of Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. The conference was cosponsored by Asia Fortune Forum, China Society of Urban Economy, Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Expo (CBE), and Pujiang County Government. It unveiled the annual top honour list of culture industry for 2012, in which Wengding Village is included.As one of the 12 tourist draws of Nanguihe River Nature Reserve of Lincang City in the southwest of Yunnan, Wengding is an over-400-year-old Wa ethnic village; it has so far the best-preserved primitive Wa ethnic community in Yunnan Province. In 2011, the cultural tourism zone of Wengding Village received about 0.2 million visitors (person-time) in all, realising a revenue of 0.4114 million yuan (appr. $64,400).Wengding Wa original herd small villages iCangyuan Wa Autonomous County Weng small village, surrounded by beautiful natural scenery, rich ethnic customs, Weng dingzhai retain the original architectural style and residential Wa Wa traditions of the original, is by far the most well-preserved primitive village herd, Lincang customs humanities is the must-tourism attractions.Wengding, which means “connected rivers” in the dialect of the Wa ethnic group, is a Wa village 30 kilometers away from Cangyuan county seat. It’s made up of 98 families or about 400 villagers. Wengding Village has kept primitive Wa residential architectures and ethnic culture. It has been the best-conserved primitive ethnic community and the must-see tourist site in Lincang Municipality. Cangyuan is normally referred to as “Ah Wa Shan” because it is inhabited by most of the Wa ethnic members in China. It’s located in the southwest of Lincang Municipality. Some traditions and customs of Wa.

Wood-drum 木鼓

Wood-drum（木鼓） from altar to stage In the religious ceremony of Wa people, a wood-drum is considered the most sacred due to its magic connection with God. Nowadays, the wood-drum is regarded as their talisman. For a festival or celebration, Was would perform Wood-drum Dance to express their happiness.

Combing 梳头发

The Wa Youth’s Marriage Custom Wa youths in Cangyuan have their unique way of expressing love. Usually a Wa lad will invite the girl he loves to comb for him when sitting on their own bamboo stools and whispering to each other. When being “combed”, the Wa lad will offer tokens like a comb, a towel, a silver bracelet or silver ear-rings.

Hair-swaying Dance 甩发舞

Hair-swaying Dance(甩发舞), a show of Wa feminine beauty The Hair-swaying Dance reveals the Wa female beauty and symbolizes their maturity. Wa women traditionally keep long hair, and put on Hair-swaying Dance hand in hand without musical instruments.

Buffalo-worship 牛崇拜

Buffalo-worship（牛崇拜）, replacement of Head Custom In old times, Was used to have the head custom, using the heads of men to make sacrifice to the God of Rice. But it has been replaced by buffalo heads that are aslo a symbol of wealth. On an important ceremony, Was will hold a buffalo-butchering ceremony.

New Rice Festiva 新米节

 New Rice Festival” is the day when paddy is mature and people celebrate happily good harvest and taste new rice. Because of different climate, the maturity time of grain in different places is different, so the time to celebrate the festival is not unified among villages or even every household. But it was often held in the seventh or eighth lunar month (the ninth or tenth month in Wa calendar) in the past. The date is determined according to the maturity situation of grain or the day, which has the same name with any one of the 12 symbolic animals when the parents or grandparents died. The intention is to invite ghosts of ancestors to return back, taste new rice together with family members, and enjoy happiness together. They also ask the ancestors’ souls in heaven to protect their descendants and promise happy family, good weather for the crops and good harvest. In order that Wa compatriots in different places could celebrate the “New Rice Festival” together, in 1991, the Cangyuan Wa Autonomous County and Ximeng Wa Autonomous County decided together that the “New Rice Festival” is fixed on the 14th of the eighth lunar month for Was.

Monihei Carnival 摸你黑狂欢节

“Monihei Carnival” of the Wa ethnic group，Wa is an age-old and mysterious minority with strong people. And the people there have worked hard for more than 3000 years and have created its unique glorious culture. As one of the only two Chinese Wa autonomous Counties, Cangyuan County in southwest China¡¯s Yunnan province has 3000 year-old cliff painting, Nan¡¯gunhe Nature Reserve, highly-protected original ecologies and abundant animal and plant resources. 

In 2009, the activities of the “Monihei Carnival” of Wa ethnic group in Cangyuan County mainly involved a grand opening ceremony of song and dance performance — “heavy colored Wa Mountain “, ethnic arts tour, a crazy and passionate “making you black” activity with tens of thousand of persons¡¯ participation, ancient cliff painting worship, songs about life in Wa Mountain, campfire party, and Wa songs concert.

 It is said this festival takes its meaning from the custom that the people smear the pot ash, ox blood and mud on other persons’ face to frighten the evils and seek peace. The players can use natural paints to smear each other and pray for each other. As a traditional custom of the minorities in China, “Monihei Carnival” has attracted a lot of tourists both from home and abroad, creating a total income of 100 million from the tourism industry.

2009 Chinese Wa minority’s “Monihei Carnival”2009 Chinese Wa minority’s “Monihei Carnival” (“Monihei” in Chinese means “making you black by smearing something on your body”.) in Sigangli Village will be ceremoniously held in Wa Autonomous County£¬Cangyuan from May 2nd and May 3rd. The activities of the Carnival mainly involve a grand opening ceremony of song and dance performance — “heavy colored Wa Mountain “, ethnic arts tour to be joined by the audience and tourists, a crazy and passionate “making you black” activity with tens of thousand of persons¡¯ participation, ancient cliff painting worship, songs about life in Wa Mountain, Campfire party, Wa songs concert and so on. This Carnival will last for several days which is full of surprise and expectation.

Wa is an age-old and mysterious minority with strong people. And the people there have worked hard for more than 3000 years and have created its unique glorious culture. As one of the only two Chinese Wa autonomous Counties, Cangyuan County has 3000 year-old cliff painting, Nan¡¯gunhe Nature Reserve, highly-protected original ecologies and abundant animal and plant resources.

It is said this festival takes its meaning from the custom that the people smear the pot ash, ox blood and mud on other persons’ face to frighten the evils and seek peace. The players can use natural paints to smear each other and pray for each other. As a traditional custom of the minorities in China, “Monihei Carnival” has attracted a lot of tourists both from home and abroad.

 Until now, “Monihei Carnival” has been held for 5 times, whose echo is quite well, thus be listed in top 10 national festivals in Yunnan, which are the most amazing and influential festivals in Yunnan.

 You can not only experience the joyful atmosphere which is full of ethnic features, but also can appreciate the various cultures and the natural and beautiful scenery in Cangyuan. Cangyuan is with pleasant weather and many trees, where you can walk in the famous cliff painting valley to appreciate the mysterious culture which is handed down by the ancestors of Wa, and you can have a visit to Wengding Village to taste excellent alcohol and experience the unique, extensive and profound culture of Wa ethnic group as well.

Cangyuan Cliff Paintings 沧源崖

The cliff paintings of Cangyuan is said to take on different colors as the time, weather and humidity change. According to the proverb of the local Wa and Thai people that the cliff painting changes three times a day: in the morning the color is red, at noon lighter and in the evening purple. Nowadays the paintings have already been designated as the key historical relic protection unit at the provincial level.  

Up to now, eleven painted cliffs have been found to scatter in the villages of Menglai, Dinglai, Mankan, Heping of Cangyuan County and the village of Mangguang of Dima County etc. Called Randianmu which means the paintings on the rocks in the local Wa language, these reddish brown ancient paintings were basically drawn on the grey limestone at the elevation of about 1, 500 meters. Measuring somewhere between one to thirty square meters, these primitive masterpieces are normally two to ten meters above the ground and include the images of animals, architectures, trees, boats, heavenly bodies like the sun or the moon, mountains and many abstract symbols etc. Human figures and lively life scene are also the important themes of these artistic works on the sharp cliffs. The eyes, nose and other facial details of the human face are normally omitted; the painters instead paid more attention to the depiction of the human body and limbs. Apart from artistic meanings and value, many important life activities of these human ancestors such as hunting, dancing, recreation and sacrifice rituals and suchlike are vividly displayed and recorded, which seems to bring the viewers back to those mysterious and remote prehistoric ages.  

The Wa language

Wa (Va) is the language of the Wa people of Burma and China. There are three distinct varieties, sometimes considered separate languages; their names in Ethnologue are Parauk, the majority and standard form; Vo (Zhenkang Wa, 40,000 speakers), and Awa (100,000 speakers), though all may be called Wa, Awa, Va, Vo. David Bradley (1994) estimates there are total of 820,000 Wa speakers. The Wa language formerly had no script and some of the few Wa that were literate used Chinese characters, while others used the Shan language and its script. Christian missionary work among the Wa began at the beginning of the 20th century first in the Burmese and later in the Chinese areas of the Wa territory. It was led by William Marcus Young, from Nebraska. The first transcription of the Wa language was devised by Young and Sara Yaw Shu Chin (Joshua) in 1931 with the purpose of translating the Bible. This first Wa alphabet was based on the Latin script and the very first publication was a compilation of Wa hymns in 1933,[8] the Wa New Testament being completed in 1938. This transcription, known as “Bible orthography” is known as lǎowǎwén (老佤文 )”old Wa orthography” in Chinese, and is now used mainly in the Burmese Wa areas and among the Wa in Thailand through the materials published by the Wa Welfare Society (Cub Yuh Bwan Ka son Vax, Cub Pa Yuh Phuk Lai Vax, Phuk Lai Hak Tiex Vax) in Chiang MaiA revised Bible orthography has been adopted as “official Wa spelling” by the central authorities of the Wa Special Region 2 in Pangkham which have published a series of primers in order to improve the literacy of the United Wa State Army troops. Also, after 2000 Wa people in social networks such as Facebook, as well as Wa songwriters in karaoke lyrics of Wa songs, use this Myanmar (revised Bible) orthography in its main variations.