Yunnan has the largest population (almost 18 million) among all the 55 ethnic groups in China. Most of them inhabit in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province. In Guangdong, Hunan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces of South China, there is also some distribution of Zhuang  people. The Zhuang ethnic group has its own language, which is generally divided into northern and southern dialects. In 1953, the Chinese Government launched a new language system of Zhuang characters based on Latin alphabet, but it was not widely used. Most people use Han-Chinese characters.The Zhuang nationality mostly worships the nature and their ancestors. After the Tang (618–907) and Song Dynasties (960–1279), both Buddhism and Taoism were spread to Zhuang areas, and temples of Buddhism and Taoism were built. Catholicism and Protestantism were introduced later, but their influence was limited history .As early as Paleolithic period, first men of Zhuang had settled in Lingnan areas (whole of Guangxi and Guangdong Provinces, parts of Jiangxi and Hunan Provinces). They lived and labored together, and were able to use stone tools.Eating HabitsRice and corn are abundantly grown in Zhuang areas, and thus become the staple food for Zhuang people. Daily consumed vegetables are numerous, and are boiled into soup, or stir-fired. Zhuang people basically eat all kinds of meat. Meat and vegetables are cooked medium well, which is believed to retain the fresh tasting of the materials. Home-made pickles are also popular because of people’s preference for sour and spicy flavors.Home-made rice wine is served for festivals and entertaining guests. Rice wine is mild and contains low amount of alcohol. Five-colored glutinous rice is served during Tomb-Sweeping Day (April 4 – 6) and Singing Festival (March 3 on lunar calendar). People use the saps of five different plants to soak and color the glutinous rice, till the rice take on five colors (black, red, yellow, purple and white), and then steam the rice. The finished rice is colorful, fragrant and nutritious.

Zhuang songs and songfests

Zhuang people are reputed for singing. Zhuang people, male or female, start to learn singing at the age of four or five. Usually the fathers teach the sons and the daughters learn from the mothers, thus forming such a custom: learning songs in childhood, singing in adulthood, teaching in old age. In the countryside, people sing at any time and any place, whether laboring in the field, cutting firewood in the mountains, or even courting, whether at the wedding, funeral or festivals. They have the songs to express their feelings. In some places, people even sing in their common talks or even quarrels among family members. Therefore, the vast place where Zhuang people live gets a nickname “the sea of songs,” as well as compared to “the land covered by the piano keys” in poetry. In the history, some famous singers were called Song Fairy or Song King, such as Liu Sanjie and Huang Sandi.

Zhuang songs are rich both in quantity and kinds. Based on the content and style, they can be classified into ancient songs, narrative long songs, life songs, labor songs, political songs, rite songs, love songs and kid songs and so on. However, when singing the Zhuang songs, people should follow certain established etiquettes and regulations, especially political songs, rite songs and love songs. For instance, the love songs are allowed to be sung freely in the wild songfests, but are forbidden at home or at the presence of parents. Different rite songs are sung on different occasions. Even different guests receive different welcome songs.

Zhuang people like singing. Besides singing casually, they have regular songfests, called Ge Wei or Ge Jie. March 3rd is the most important date for songfests. Besides, songfests can be held on the spring festival, April 8th, Mid-autumn day, wedding day, a baby’s one-month birthday, or a new house completion day. A provisional songfest can be held even on the road to the market fair. There are two kinds of songfests: daytime songfest and evening songfest. Daytime songfests are in the wild fields, mainly for young people to court. Evening songfests are inside the villages, mainly singing songs aiming at teaching production and life knowledge, such as season songs, questioning songs and history songs, etc.

Songfests have multi-functions. However, in history they mainly serve young people to court lovers through singing publicly. On songfest days, young people in their holiday best come to the songfest place. Through singing, they display their talent, reveal their feelings, exchange their thoughts and find their lovers. On the songfests, singing in antiphonal style is the major activity. In this one-to-one singing match, the two singers are often surrounded by their friends. Sometimes, the song masters stand beside to give a hand. The procedure of antiphonal singing is very complicated and strict. Generally speaking, from the start of antiphonal singing to the final confirmation of their love, they will experience the following steps: introductory songs, first meeting songs, self-boasting songs, first question songs, questioning songs, eulogizing songs, pursuit songs, first love songs, friend making songs, love confirmation songs, gift-presenting songs and parting songs and so on. Every link is relatively independent yet closely related. The songs in each link are rather long and rich in content. A good singer can keep on singing for several days and nights.

For instance:
First meeting songs:

      Female: A beginner in singing is like a sparrow learning to fly.
                  Fly to the twig, and look up to the highest place, yet afraid to fly.
      Male:     I sing well. You are an oriole and I am a throstle.
                  We live in the same wood, why not singing in pair?

Pursuit songs:

      Male:    Green willows on the roadside touch my heart. 
                  I ask the willow why she does not shield me from the sunheat?
      Female: White gourd has neither heart nor mouth, teapot has a mouth yet no heart.
                  Bottle gourd is always half in water, I am afraid you are of the three.

Parting songs:

      Male:    Sunset, birds are singing back to the mountains in pairs.
                  I want to stay longer with you, yet the sun envies me.
      Female: I accompany you back to sugarcane field, and sent you a sugarcane.
                 You eat one end and I the other, it breaks in the middle.
      Male:    Leave and return, telling my darling.
                  I give you the key, yet don’t open the garden for others.
      Female: Leave and return, telling my darling.
                  I will wait for you here for ten years, yet don’t plant your flower elsewhere. 

However, such a way of finding lovers through singing is not completed at one time, instead, singing plays the role of the matcher. After getting acquaintance on the songfests, young people still have a long way to go before getting married.  They need develop further contact, deepen mutual understanding and love, and ultimately confirm their courtship.

Costumes and HandicraftsTraditional

costumes are worn in ethnic areas or for special occasions. Dexterous Zhuang women use hand-woven fabric to make clothes of various styles. Usually girls wear a blue-and-black collarless jacket with bright furbelow, baggy trousers or Batik skirt, and a delicately embroidered apron is fastened on the waist. For boys, they are dressed in black front-opening coat with cloth-wrapped buttons, and wear a belt on the waist. Zhuang people fancy silver accessories.Zhuang Brocade is one of the four famous Chinese brocades (the other three are: Yun Brocade from Nanjing, Shu Brocade from Sichuan Province, and Song Brocade from Suzhou). This splendid handicraft was originated in the Song Dynasty (960 – 1276 AD). They are woven with cotton, silk or flax threads into colorful patterns. Images of flowers, plants and animals are mostly adopted. The Brocade is very durable, and is widely used in making quilt covers, handbags, aprons, table-cloth, scarves, wall hangings, cushions, etc.

Xiuqiu (silk balls), are symbols of love and happiness for the Zhuang PeopleAnother traditional handicraft of the Zhuang ethnic group is Xiuqiu (embroidery ball), a symbol of love and happiness. The balls are made of silk cloth, and have twelve connected petals. Each petal represents a month, and has an image of flowers, plants, or birds on it. The balls are typically red, yellow or green. Originally Xiuqiu are a love gift, a Zhuang girl will throw a Xiuqiu to a young man she admires to let him know that he is welcome to pursue her.

Zhuang Opera and Shoulder-Pole Dance

Zhuang Opera carries unique nationality features and local characteristics. They are mostly written in Zhuang dialect in four-lined verses with five or seven characters to each line. They can be also written in the rhythm structures like that of the folk songs. The arias and melodies are based on folk songs and folk melodies. The acting is diverse in style, which mainly includes dancing and singing with spoken parts serving as links. Zhuang Opera also has a whole set of obbligato, costume and stage properties. The traditional list of plays for Zhuang Opera are as follows: Pan Gu, Wen Long and Xiao Ni, Bu Ya, Nong Zhigao, Si Jie Decents to the World, Liu Er Beats Ghost, Unbinding Mortar, A Flower, Precious Calabash, Red Bronze Drum, One Hundred Birds Clothes and etc.

The Zhuang people are good at singing and dancing. From the frescos on the cliff of Flower Hill, we can get a glimpse of how the ancient Zhuang people enjoyed their lives by dancing jubilantly.

Most of the Zhuang dances, characterized by true-to-life emotions, are concerned about their own working, love and life. Some famous Zhuang dances include: Shoulder-Pole Dance, Rice-Husking Dance, Tea-Picking Dance, Rice-Transplanting Dance, Shrimp-Catching Dance, Silk-Ball Dance, Bronze-Drum Dance, Water-Bailing Dance, Triumph Dance, Bee-Drum Dance and Board-Shoe Dance.

Shoulder-Pole Dance is a typical dance that depicts the Zhuang people’s working. It is usually composed of four parts, namely “rice-transplanting”, “water-lifting by using waterwheels”, “reaping and thrashing” and “rice husking”. The Shoulder-Pole Dance is well received among the Zhuang People: the actors, shoulder-pole in hand, sing and dance up and down around a wooden groove. Simple as it is, Shoulder-Pole Dance is grand in style, strong in rhythm and takes on a jocular and convivial atmosphere. It demonstrates vividly the main working scenes of the farmers, from seedling to husking. Even today the Zhuang people still enjoy Shoulder-Pole Dance when the New Year comes.

Miao people 

The Miao live primarily in southern China’s mountains, in the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan,Sichuan, Guangxi, Hainan, Guangdong, and Hubei. Some members of the Miao sub-groups, most notably the Hmong people, have migrated out of China into Southeast Asia (northern Vietnam, Laos, Burma(Myanmar) and Thailand). Following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975, a large group of Hmong refugees resettled in several Western nations, mainly in the United States, France, and Australia. There has been a recent tendency by Hmong Americans to group all Miao peoples together under the term Hmong because of their disdain for the Chinese term Miao. This however fails to recognize that the Hmong are only a subgroup within the broader linguistic and cultural family of Miao people and the vast majority of Miao people do not classify themselves as Hmong and have their own names for themselves.

Religion

They believe that everything in nature has a spirit, which incombination are mighty enough to control their lives. Every time there are disasters, they will invite a wizard to perform ceremonies designed to drive out the devil ghost. They worship their ancestors so much that memorial ceremonies are very grand. Sacrifices such as wine, meat, and glutinous rice are costly. Some also believe in Catholicism or other Christian religions.

New Rice   Tasting FestivaL

 Divided by regions, they celebrate their festivals at different times, but they all have many, like the Dragon Boat Festival, the Huashan Festival, the Pure Brightness and the New Rice Tasting Festival (Chixin Jie). Among these, the Miao Spring Festival is the most important one that is held during the lunar ninth to the eleventh month.

The New Rice Tasting Festival is worth mentioning. To express their gratitude for the harvest, they will stream the newly ripe rice, brew wine with new rice, cook dishes with newly-picked vegetables and freshly caught fish.

The Lusheng dance is a unique musical performance of the Miao ethnic minority during nearly every celebration. While playing the lusheng, a kind of wind instrument, they dance in demanding patterns, and sing to each other.

The population is 459 thousands at the end of 2007.The local residents are Han ,Zhuang, Miao, Yi,Yao,Bai,Hui,Bo, eight nationalities at all. The population of ethic nationalities are 287 thousands in total who account for 62.5% among the total population. The Qiubei Government stands in Jinping Town where the altitude is 1452m.Qiubei County is 280km from the capital of Yunnan-Kunming,114km from the Wenshan Capital. Qiubei locates the hilly land of Karst mountain in the southeast, the terrain is high in the southwest and low in the northeast. The branches of Liuzhao Mountain cut across the whole county .The major rivers are Nanpan,Liulangodong,Huamo,Tuodi,Guanzhai,Budang,Qingshui,Nanqiu,Qingshui,Qingshui,Qingping,Shikui,Panlong.These rivers belong to Zhujiang River and Honghe River. Puzhehei Pool is the larger one among natural pools, the dimension is 108 thousands km, the highest point is 2501.8m,the lowest point is 862m.

Karst Bar 喀斯特酒吧 

Address：No,44 on Hexie Road of Xisa town in Xichou county西洒镇和谐路44

Tel：08767628919

Leisure Clubs休闲会所

Address：On Dongsheng road of Xichou road in Wenshan.文山壮族苗族自治州西畴县东升路附近

Tel：0876-7877499

Kadi KTV -卡迪KTV 

Address：On Dongsheng road of Xichou road in Wenshan.文山壮族苗族自治州西畴县东升路

Yipin Tea house 一品茶庄

Address :No,31 on Renmin road of Xichou county in Wenshan.文山壮族苗族自治州西畴县人民路31号

Tel：08767624321

Cha daofu 茶道夫

Address：No,25 on Pingan  road of Xichou county in Wenshan.

Tel：15398303273

Xichou Teenagers’ Extracurricular Activities Centre 西畴县青少年校外活动中心

Address：On Qingnian Road of Xichou county in Wenshan.文山壮族苗族自治州西畴县青年路

Xichou Cultural Center  西畴县文化馆

Address： No,50 on Jingyu road of Xichu county in Wenshan.文山壮族苗族自治州西畴县金玉路50号

Tel：0876-7623495

Zhuang people are reputed for singing. Zhuang people, male or female, start to learn singing at the age of four or five. Usually the fathers teach the sons and the daughters learn from the mothers, thus forming such a custom: learning songs in childhood, singing in adulthood, teaching in old age. In the countryside, people sing at any time and any place, whether laboring in the field, cutting firewood in the mountains, or even courting, whether at the wedding, funeral or festivals. They have the songs to express their feelings. In some places, people even sing in their common talks or even quarrels among family members. Therefore, the vast place where Zhuang people live gets a nickname “the sea of songs,” as well as compared to “the land covered by the piano keys” in poetry. In the history, some famous singers were called Song Fairy or Song King, such as Liu Sanjie and Huang Sandi.

Zhuang songs are rich both in quantity and kinds. Based on the content and style, they can be classified into ancient songs, narrative long songs, life songs, labor songs, political songs, rite songs, love songs and kid songs and so on. However, when singing the Zhuang songs, people should follow certain established etiquettes and regulations, especially political songs, rite songs and love songs. For instance, the love songs are allowed to be sung freely in the wild songfests, but are forbidden at home or at the presence of parents. Different rite songs are sung on different occasions. Even different guests receive different welcome songs.

Marvelous  drawing skills

On the banks of the long Zoujiang River stand strangely shaped mountains and precipices. Mountains reflect themselves in the water, forming marvelous natural scenery. In 1956, just on these dangerous precipices, people found many pictures in dark red, featuring human, animals, bronze drums and boats etc.— Huashan fresco. These pictures are roughly drawn, half-hidden, with crude lines. After seeing them, many scholars were full of praises, “Who wielded giant pens and composed such great works? It must be the nature.” “Marvelous  drawing skills, rare in the world. Standing in the rain and wind for years, they remain fresh as ever.”

Huashan fresco is distributed in seven counties, Ningming, Pingxiang, Longzhou, Chongzuo, Futuo, Daxin, and Tiandeng among the river basin of the Zuojiang River and its branches Mingjiang River, Heishuihe River, and Shuikouhe River. So far, 183 spots with 287 picture groups have been found in 84 places. This giant gallery, extending over 200 kilometers, with the sky as the roof and the mountains as the screen, is rare in the world both in scale and quantity.

Especially in Huashan Mountain in Ningming County, on the 200-meter-wide, 40-meter-high precipices hanging over the river there remain bright and colorful pictures, more than 1,800 of which are still intelligible. Due to its grand size, people use the mountain name to call all the frescos nearby — Huashan fresco.

Zhuang Opera

Zhuang Opera, which is also called Zhuang drama, is a stage acting art with a history of several hundred years, developing from various Zhuang folk literature, music, dance and acrobatics. According to its style, it can be classified into South Zhuang Opera and North Zhuang Opera. It can be also classified into Shigong Opera, Guangnan Opera, Funing Opera, Longlin Opera, Tianlin Opera, Dejing Opera and Hanlong Opera according to its different areas, dialects, arias and acting arts.

Zhuang Opera carries unique nationality features and local characteristics. They are mostly written in Zhuang dialect in four-lined verses with five or seven characters to each line. They can be also written in the rhythm structures like that of the folk songs. The arias and melodies are based on folk songs and folk melodies. The acting is diverse in style, which mainly includes dancing and singing with spoken parts serving as links. Zhuang Opera also has a whole set of obbligato, costume and stage properties. The traditional list of plays for Zhuang Opera are as follows: Pan Gu, Wen Long and Xiao Ni, Bu Ya, Nong Zhigao, Si Jie Decents to the World, Liu Er Beats Ghost, Unbinding Mortar, A Flower, Precious Calabash, Red Bronze Drum, One Hundred Birds Clothes and etc.

In West Han Dynasty, Eastern Yanshan belonged to Zangke prefecture, the west of Yanshan belonged to Yizhou prefecture. Nanzhao period in Tang dynasty Tonghai is the capitania.

Dali period in Song Dynasty Yanshan belonged to Weimo tribe ,Western road of Guangnan and Hami Wanhufu of Zuining  town .

In Qing dynasty Yanshan belonged to Wenshan county, Qiubei county of Guangxi,Baoning county of Guangnan ,Ami zhou of Linan. Daoguang period set Jiangna county.

In  the first year(1912AD) set Jiangna county Zuo belonged to Wenshan conunty, In 1932  set Yabshan shezhi departure .In 1935 set Yanshan county.

Novermber,30,1949 all county liberated ,After the foundation of the People’s  Republic of China Yanshan belonged to Wenshan county.April,1st ,1958 belonged to Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.1958,canceled the county system and it belonged to Wenshan county.

Celebrity

Mei Guangde(梅光德), Pan Shenghuai(盘圣怀), Xiang Congzhou(项从周) ,Luo Yanbiao(罗廷标)

Bian–Jianianhua Music Bar彼岸·嘉年华音乐酒吧

Address：On Linjiang road of Malipo in Wenshan.文山壮族苗族自治州麻栗坡县临江路

Tel：08766512669

969 Bar–969饮吧

Address：Malipo in Wenshan.文山壮族苗族自治州麻栗坡县XH54

Tel：08766518968

Bala Bala KTV-芭啦芭啦KTV

Address：No,88 on  Chuangye  road of Malipo in Wenshan.：文山壮族苗族自治州麻栗坡县创业路88号附近

Tel：0876-6629068

Gelifang KTV—歌立方KTV

Address： Malipo in Wenshan. 文山壮族苗族自治州麻栗坡县XH54

Tel ：08766626399

99 Tea house –99茶坊 

Address：No,17 on  Linjiang road of  Malipo in Wenshan：文山壮族苗族自治州麻栗坡县临江路17号

Tel：0876-6868578

Malipo Young center  麻栗坡县青少年活动中心

Address： Malipo in Wenshan文山壮族苗族自治州麻栗坡县魁角街附近

Fairgrounds cultural and entertainment centerof Donggan toen董干镇集贸市场文化娱乐中心

Address： Malipo in Wenshan文山壮族苗族自治州麻栗坡县XH4

In 2009, Chengzhai Village was inscribed into the second batch of the intangible cultural heritage list of Yunnan Province.

Chengzhai Village– Bailuo people

Chengzhai Village belongs to the community of Xinzhai of Donggan Town, Malipo County; 134 km from the county seat, it sits at the border of the counties of Malipo, Funing, and Guangnan.Bailuo, a branch of the Yi ethnic group, have called Chengzhai home for several hundred years. Comparing to other Yi ethnic branches, the Bailuo members differ a lot as far as their clothing, dietary habits and dwellings are concerned. Due to their quaint costumes, exotic culture and distinctive Ganlan (stilted houses) architectures, Bailuo people have aroused great attention.

The Ganlan style buildings (stilted houses)
It is the traditional architectural style of the Bailuo people, using 52 (56 or 66) columns in eight rows to support the whole building. Such a house normally has two storeys, plus a stable (ground): the first floor is for people to live at, and the second is used for storage; both sides of the house are designed with flying eves; and the roof is paved with tiles.

As a typical representative of the Bailuo ethnic culture, Chengzhai Village exhibits the historical and cultural remains on a real and integral basis. The rich cultural connotations here have included the Bailuo ethnic language, (oral) literature, music, dance, fine arts, architecture, sacrificial ceremonies, etiquettes, traditional festivals, and many other ethnic customs.

The festival of buckwheat

The buckwheat festival is the grandest festival of the Bailuo people.

A local legend goes that, in the ancient times, a big fire broke out in a Bailuo ethnic village, torching down all the houses and grains. The villagers were in deep sorrow.

All of a sudden, a villager found some grains of buckwheat under a reversed bowl, and grew them in the fields. Several months later, the buckwheat plants brought a harvest, saving the starving village.

In order to express thanks to the buckwheat, the Bailuo ethnic villagers determined to spend the three-day Buckwheat Festival on the first Dragon Day of he lunar calendar. People always carry out religious ceremonies during the festival to pray for abundant rainfall.

The batik craft

Enriched by the ethnic culture, the batik craft highlights the culture of the Bailuo people who are traditionally adept at making quaint, elegant costumes on their own. Carrying modern aesthetic elements, and with delicate workmanship, it has brought great visual impacts one can’t help marveling at. 

Recall the soul
In the old times, the Bailuo people seldom washed clothes because they believed that people’s souls are attached to the clothes they worn. Therefore, every time they washed clothes, they had to slaughter a rooster for recalling the soul. Today, assimilated by other cultures, the Bailuos have barely kept the tradition.

The drum dance
Drum dance is one of the traditional dances of the Bailuo people. As a kind of dance performed when Bailuo people hold sacrificial ceremonies for their ancestors, it reflects the Bailuos’ worship for nature and ancestors.

Usually, only one person beats the drum, and dancers perform to the beats in a counterclockwise way, singing some solemn tones. The drum dance, which includes more than 30 routines, is a massive entertaining activity of the Bailuos; it is performed on the fairground of the village and can be joined by at least 100 villagers.

In 2007, the Bailuo ethnic drum dance was listed as one of China’s intangible cultural heritages. Lu Xiaozong and Lu Youquan were nominated as two inheritors in this regard.

Administrative division of this area in history initiated during the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD), when the emperor launched the exploitation of southwestern border area. Kingdoms set up by local ethnic minorities were conquered and replaced by counties and shires newly established by the court.

Due to a lack of arable land and remoteness, this is area that has never been densely populated. It is generally thought to have been originally inhabited by Miao peoples, who migrated into Wenshanzhou from what is now Guizhou province. During to the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD), kingdoms established by local ethnic groups were dismantled by invading forces and the area was assimilated.

The leaders and people of Wenshan have worked hard for 10 years to change that situation. As a result, the prefecture’s GDP increased from 1.75 billion yuan in 1992 to 8.7 billion yuan in 2002, and the per capita net income of its farmers almost quadrupled. More than 2.4 million people thus emerged from poverty and achieved subsistence level.

Diying club 帝赢娱乐会所 

Address: On Juncheng road of Maguan county inWenshan.文山壮族苗族自治州马关县骏城路附近

Tel：0876-7133333

T8 Bar T8酒吧 

Address：On Zixin road of Maguan county in Wenshan.文山壮族苗族自治州马关县锌锡路

Runyuan KTV 润源KtV

Address：No,194 on Wenhua road of Maguan county in Wenshan.文山壮族苗族自治州马关县文化路194号润源大酒店内

Tel：0876-7134888

Runyuan Hotel Tea house 润源大酒店-茶室

Address： No,194 on Wenhua road of Maguan county in Wenshan

Tel：08767134777

Yanshan  Young center 马关县青少年活动中心

Address:No,167 on Wenhua road of Maguan county inWenshan.文山壮族苗族自治州马关县文化路167

Folk culture center民俗群艺活动中心

Address：Huzhilu road of Maguan county in Wenahan.文山壮族苗族自治州马关县花枝格村

Zhuang ethnic minority

Food and Food Culture:

Their primary products are tropical and subtropical crops such as rice and corn due to the mild climate and abundant rainfall. The people eat all kinds of meat, including beef, mutton, pork and chicken, etc. The vegetables of their daily life are of various kinds. Poached and pickled vegetables are the favored ones.

They are so hospitable that any guests are honored by the whole village. Wine is a must when treating the guests. Guests are shown a unique way of drinking each others wine in the spoon by crossing each other’s arms. The elder person is shown respect by nobody eating before him or her.

Festivals

The Devil Festival, held on July 14th of the lunar month, is regarded as an occasion second to the Spring Festival. The day before the Devil Festival, every family does a thorough house cleaning and makes special preparations of outfits used in the sacrifice. On that day, duck, pork and good wines along with some candies and fruits must be offered in order to show great respect to their ancestors.Besides sharing similar festivals with the Han, they have their unique ones including: the Devil Festival, the Ox Soul Festival, and the Singing Festival.

The Ox Soul Festival held on April 8th of the lunar month is to celebrate the birthday of the king of oxen and to show their love and respect to the ox, therefore, each ox is relieved from their yokes and free from plowing. People give the ox a bath accompanied with beating drums. Parents of a family feed the ox with five-colored glutinous rice, while singing folksongs. It is a festival that represents their great hope for a good harvest.

The Singing Festival is a traditional occasion which was held before 1940 to visit graves of the ancestors. Now it has become a grand sentimental occasion using songs for their expression. On that day, after offering sacrifices to Sanjie Liu (a Zhuang minority girl good at singing), they will sing to each other to challenge each other not only the song itself but also wit. Lyrics are usually improvisational and humorous that makes every one burst into laughter. It is also a perfect day for the young men to express their love to the girls by singing, so it is also reputed as the Valentine’s Day of the Zhuang ethnic minority.

Other Culture:

Other cultures such as frescoes and bronze drums are also of splendid fame.

The Zhuang minority’s frescoes carved on the steep cliffs are of extreme Zhuang characteristics. Figures, beasts and some other patterns carved 2,000 years ago will make everyone appreciate the image of their ancestors and the superb technique.

The bronze drum used both in sacrifice and festivals, delivers a special culture of the Zhuang ethnic minority. On the top and sides of the drums, the sun, frogs, dragon, dancing women and other patterns are decorated. It is a great revelation of their worship to the sun and frog. Nowadays, the bronze drum has become an indispensable musical instrument for the festivals.

Yao ethnic minority

The staple food is rice, corn and potatoes. Most of the meat in their diet comes from their own domestic livestock and from wild animals that the men hunt. Teas and homemade wines are their favorite drinks. As they are very hospitable and polite, they entertain guests with their palatable food and refined wines and insist that seniors be seated in the seat of honor.

Festivals: 

They hold many festivals, with at least one a month. Among the grand festivals, Panwang festival and Danu festival are the ones most worth mentioning. The former is held either every year, or every three to five years to express their reverence for their earliest known ancestor, Panwang. During this festival, everyone dresses themselves in their finest clothing and festively sings and dances to heart’s content. Danu festival is held especially for the Yao people living in Guangxi Province to commemorate their grandmothers. TheZhuang people nearby also celebrate this festival by brewing fragrant wines and sing the melodious songs along with playing a timbal beating game.

Other culture and arts

Other culture and arts are also worth appreciating, such as the ballads and legends with rich content and multiple styles that depict the nation’s history, glorify the hard revolutions, or express their sweet love, with their distinctive music and songs as tambourine dance and timbal dance.

All in all, the moralities of diligence, faithfulness, hospitality, and braveness have been handed down from generation to generation , and have become their representative characteristics.

Yi ethnic minority

Religion
Various beliefs are treasured, such as the belief of the spirit, the worship of their ancestors, and the adoration of nature, along with the cherishing of Catholicism, Christianity, and Buddhism. Amongst all these beliefs, the power of the spirit is regarded as the most magical one. Some heirlooms left to the Yi people by their ancestors are endowed with magic that can bring good will to their owners. Therefore, these highly valued possessions are carefully kept and passed down through generations.

Food and Food Culture
Their diets vary according to different regional conditions. However, because most of them live in mountainous areas, buckwheat, corn, potatoes are suitable for planting and are regarded as their staple food. Some of the ethnic groups do eat rice as their staple food. Pork, mutton, and beef are the main meats consumed. As for their beverages, tea and wines are regarded as the most superior ones to serve to their honoured guests.

Chahua festival is another characteristic festival which is held to commemorate the hero, Mi Yinu, who helped the Yi people overcome the tyrannical ruler. When the Maying flowers blossom, people will wear them on their hairs or present them to each other and sing to their heart’s content to celebrate their happy life.

Festivals: 
Traditional festivals include the Torch and Chahua festivals. Among them, the Torch Festival is the grandest traditional festival, held on the 24th day of the lunar month of June. It is held to celebrate the victory of a rebellion against a tyrannical landlord. It lasts for three days, where families assemble together and hold rich and colourful activities. Wearing the traditional Yi clothes, they enjoy themselves with wrestling, horse racing, bull fighting, tug-of-wars and so on. When night comes, large bonfires are lit, with people sitting around, singing and dancing for the whole night.

Other festivals such as Saichuan festival (a festival during which people dress in beautiful clothes and enter into fashion competitions), and Shiyue Nian (the traditional spring festival for the Yi ethnic group held on October) are also well worth participating in.

The local residents are Han, Zhuang, Miao, Yi, Yao ,Bai,  Hui ,Bo, eight nationalities at all.The population of ethic nationalities are 287 thousands in total who account for 62.5% among the total population. The Qiubei Lodal Government stands in Jinping Town where the altitude is 1452m.Qiubei County is 280km from the capital of Yunnan-Kunming, 114km from the Wenshan Capital. Qiubei locates the hilly land of Karst mountain in the southeast, the terrain is high in the southwest and low in the northeast. The branches of Liuzhao Mountain cut across the whole county.

The population is 459 thousands at the end of 2007.The local residents are Han ,Zhuang, Miao, Yi,Yao,Bai,Hui,Bo, eight nationalities at all. The population of ethic nationalities are 287 thousands in total who account for 62.5% among the total population. The Qiubei Government stands in Jinping Town where the altitude is 1452m.Qiubei County is 280km from the capital of Yunnan-Kunming,114km from the Wenshan Capital. Qiubei locates the hilly land of Karst mountain in the southeast, the terrain is high in the southwest and low in the northeast. The branches of Liuzhao Mountain cut across the whole county .The major rivers are Nanpan,Liulangodong,Huamo,Tuodi,Guanzhai,Budang,Qingshui,Nanqiu,Qingshui,Qingshui,Qingping,Shikui,Panlong.These rivers belong to Zhujiang River and Honghe River. Puzhehei Pool is the larger one among natural pools, the dimension is 108 thousands km, the highest point is 2501.8m,the lowest point is 782m.

Varied eating habits,ceremonies, costumes, folk legends and festivals such as the Sanyuesan Festival of the Zhuang people, the Caihuashan Festival of the Miao people, the Panwang Festival of Yao people, and the Torch Festival of the Bai people, make Wenshan a colorful prefecture. Taoyuan Entertainment City(桃源娱乐城 )-, Datang Entertainment club(大唐盛世娱乐会所)Tianxing Tea House (天香茶楼) are the entertainment activities in Qiubei county.

Datang Entertainment club大唐盛世娱乐会所

Address：On  Puzhehei Street of Qiubei county in Wenshan. 文山壮族苗族自治州丘北县普者黑大街

Tel：08764657888

Xuanya KTV 轩雅KTV 

Address: On Wencui road of Qiubei ciunty in Wenshan.文山壮族苗族自治州丘北县文翠路

Tel：0876-4121113

Lanshanlian Coffee bar 蓝山恋咖啡休闲吧

Address：No,249 Puzhehei street of Qiubei county in Wenshan.文山壮族苗族自治州丘北县普者黑大街249号

Tel：15812299055

Tianxing Tea House 天香茶楼

Address：Near the Jinping Bus Station 锦屏客运站附近

Tel：13577673229

Pinke 品客  

Address：No,141 on Puzhehei Street of Qiubei county in Wenshan文山壮族苗族自治州丘北县普者黑大街141

Tel：0876-8890980

Yuren Docks Bar渔人码头酒吧

Address：No,21on Xinmin Street of Qiubei county in Wenshan.文山壮族苗族自治州丘北县邱北县新民街21号(近文翠路)

Tel：13577603258

Hualian Festival

Time:July

Hualian means to enforce somebody to wear collies. Hualian Festival is special of Yi Minority in Qiubei County, Wenshan Prefecture. Yi is  there also claim themselves to be Sani branch like that in the Stone Forest. Yi ancestors in Qiubei were said to wear black collies on their faces to drive away evil spirits thus Hualian Festival was brought forth, and it has become a golden opportunity for young generation to develop new romances because they could, on that day, “mark the faces” to express love.