Overview

Chinese Name: 楚雄市杨梅节
English Name: Chinese Bayberry Festival in Chuxiong City
Location:楚雄市中山镇，大过口乡，三街镇/Chuxiong City, Zhongshan Town, Daguokou Township. Sanjie Town

Lengends of the Festival

Every year on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, the Yi people of the Chuxiong area celebrate the annual Yangmei Festival, known in Yi language as “Sala Wo Luo Zhi Ga.” The festival coincides with the ripening of the yangmei fruit, and the mountains are filled with bright red yangmei hanging from the branches, a truly delightful sight. During this beautiful season, Yi families gather from all directions in the Xiaoheiqing area of the Black Cow Mountain to celebrate their traditional festival.

The origin of the Yangmei Festival is associated with a beautiful and moving legend. It is said that a long time ago, there lived a lovely Yi girl named Amanuo on the Black Cow Mountain. Amanuo had a singing voice sweeter than that of a lark and was more beautiful than the blossoms of the horse cherry tree. She could weave thousands of colorful silk fabrics and embroider a thousand pleated skirts in a single day. Her mountain songs spread across the nine mountains and eighteen valleys, and her clothing reached all over the Ailao Mountains. Many young men sought her hand in marriage, but Amanuo only loved her sweetheart, Su Lezuo.

Later, the local chieftain, Ah Zha Pen, took a liking to Amanuo and came to propose with gold and silver treasures, accompanied by a procession of cattle, horses, mules, and sheep. Despite the chieftain’s persistent wooing, Amanuo remained silent, for her heart belonged only to Su Lezuo. Angered by her rejection, the chieftain deceitfully invited Su Lezuo to a hunting contest, where Su Lezuo went and never returned. Amanuo felt as if the moon was without the sun when she lost her beloved. Tearful and heartbroken, the kind and beautiful Yi girl searched the entire Ailao Mountains but could not find her brother Su Lezuo. Little did she know, her beloved had already been killed by the treacherous chieftain.

Strangely, when Amanuo’s tears fell to the ground, they miraculously sprouted into a sea of yangmei trees overnight. Meanwhile, the chieftain thought that with Su Lezuo’s death, he could finally marry Amanuo, but she refused to agree to his proposal. Therefore, the chieftain conspired again, threatening that if Amanuo did not comply, he would attack her village on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month. Fear spread through the entire Black Cow Mountain as local residents trembled in fear. To protect her people from harm, Amanuo set a large fire atop Black Cow Mountain on that day. Facing the fierce chieftain and her kind villagers, Amanuo sang one blessing song after another for her people and one denunciation song after another against the chieftain, before resolutely jumping into the blazing fire. The brutal chieftain was taken aback, as the blood-red flames consumed the brave and kind girl. As the firelight faded, suddenly the sun pierced through the heavy clouds, illuminating Black Cow Mountain. In the sunlight, the yangmei trees were suddenly laden with ripe, sweet red yangmei.

Later, to commemorate this self-sacrificing and fearless Yi girl, each year on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, the Yi people gather at Xiaoheiqing in Black Cow Mountain for the Yangmei Festival.

On this day, beautiful Yi girls don their finest clothes and carry their favorite small bamboo baskets to the mountains to pick the ripe and red yangmei. The Yi young men bring their large Sanxian (three-stringed instrument) and play flutes, coming early to the Yangmei Street. Around noon, people play the lusheng (a traditional reed instrument) and dance, singing “A Su Zhe” melodies, greeting friends and exchanging blessings. Under the cool shade of the yangmei trees, young Yi men and women sing “Qing Peng Diao” songs to express their feelings and seek kindred spirits. If a young man finds the yangmei in the girl’s bamboo basket not sweet enough, it signifies that they do not yet understand each other well enough, and they would wait until the following year to meet again. If three yangmei taste sweet in their mouths, it indicates they have found their soulmate. If Yi girls are not satisfied with the young men, they politely decline, claiming their yangmei are not sweet. If both parties are interested, they will pair off and blend into a world of song and a sea of dance until “the brother dances through a thousand layers of floor” and “the sister wears out her embroidered shoes.”

That night, the Yi girl would bring the young man home and accommodate him in the “girl’s room,” waiting for a matchmaker to appoint a date, while the bi mo (a traditional priest) selects an auspicious day for the wedding, celebrated with music and dance as they welcome the new couple.

Overview

Chinese Name: 楚雄市三街镇请神来玩节
English Name: Inviting God Playing Festival of Yi Ethnic Minority in Chuxiong City
Location: 楚雄市三街镇上新房村委会大丫口村/Dayakou Village, Shangxinfang Village Committee, Sanjie Town, Chuxiong City

Lengend of the Festival

In Shangxinfang Village Committee, Dayakou Village, Sanjie Town, Chuxiong City, Yunnan Province, is located under a ridge of mountains that stretches far away, reportedly originating from the Cangshan Mountains in Dali. The Yi ethnic group has lived here for generations and refers to themselves as Luoluo Wuxiangpo. They are hardworking, kind, simple, and honest, living a peaceful life without extravagant desires. Behind their village, every year on the first day of the Lunar New Year, people come to hold a fair, and the sounds of string instruments and flute playing used to echo through the long river valley. Perhaps because of this, the Yi people in this village particularly love to have fun and make noise. The mysterious Yi festival of “Inviting the Gods to Play” originates from this village.

Decades ago, when people’s living standards were not very affluent, there was naturally little enthusiasm for television. In their spare time, everyone loved to play together. Therefore, during the New Year celebrations, the young and old in this village would take turns playing the “Inviting the Gods” game, enjoying it endlessly. They would play from the first day of the New Year until the fifteenth day, with the scene being lively and mysterious. It is said that after the fifteenth day, the gods could no longer be invited, and thus, the game could not be played anymore. The existence of the “Inviting the Gods to Play” festival, when shared with outsiders, is often met with skepticism.

During the “Inviting the Gods to Play” festival, each household prepares a feast for the villagers who come to participate. When all the small stars in the sky are visible and the villagers gather, the elders who can chant incantations will announce the beginning of the “Inviting the Gods” ceremony, allowing people to volunteer to participate. Before the “Inviting the Gods” begins, participants must wash their faces and feet, harboring pure intentions. Once everything is ready, the hosts will close the doors of the main hall, and those with windows will also close them, claiming that they fear the invited gods might cause those being possessed to run out and see the small stars, making it impossible for them to return to their “human form,” so they exercise extra caution. The ritual of inviting the gods takes place on the ground spread with green pine needles in front of the Yi “sacrificial altar” (which has offerings for various deities year-round). Those willing to be possessed by the gods kneel on the ground with incense lit, while the one chanting the incantations also lights incense in front of them and recites verses, the general meaning of which is to invite a certain celestial god to come and play, stating that life on earth is very enjoyable.

Basic Introduction

• Chinese Name: 楚雄民族赛装文化节
• English Name: Chuxion Nationalities Saizhuang (Costume Competition) Festival
• Location: Chuxiong City
• Festival Dates:March 28th, and the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

The Garment Festival of Yi ethnic girls has two locations in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture. One is the Garment Festival in Zhiqu Village, Yongren County, which takes place on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month each year. The other is the Garment Festival in Santai Township, Dayao County, held on the twenty-eighth day of the third lunar month.

The Garment Festival provides an opportunity for young men and women who live in dispersed communities, making it difficult for them to gather and get to know each other, to express their love. The girls showcase their charm by demonstrating who wears the most beautiful clothes. The clothing of Yi women is entirely handmade with peach blossoms and embroidery, and making a complete outfit can often take one or two years. Therefore, those who have more clothes and better designs are seen as hardworking, capable, and skillful individuals.

Unlike past traditions of the festival, people no longer wear all their clothes at once but instead change into new outfits repeatedly, with some girls changing five or six times in a single day. As a result, the festival now features another scene: under the shade of green trees, the elders set up countless tents where they cook food, loyally guarding the clothing of their daughters.

From the very beginning, the Garment Festival has had a competitive nature, making it one of the earliest fashion shows. The difference is that Yi girls are not only the designers of the clothes but also their makers, and they serve as the “fashion models” during the performance.

Festival Features

Every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Yi people living in the Zhiqu area of Yongren County and nearby Zhonghe and Dayao County in Yunnan gather to celebrate the Garment Festival. The Garment Festival is a day for a grand competition of clothing and adornments. It is a festival that fully showcases the intelligence and hard work of the Yi people and is also a celebration of beauty and elegance.

At the garment competition, colors abound, with vibrant and eye-catching clothing everywhere, making it a visual feast. Yi women not only embroider flowers on hats, clothes, and waist wraps, but also cover bags, shoes, and insoles with various patterns. Each person’s craftsmanship, composition, and color choices are unique, showcasing their individuality. Embroidery can depict everything from rain and thunder to the sun and moon, mountains, and rivers, as well as various plants and animals. The intricate balance of simplicity and complexity in the compositions, exaggerated and transformed images, and striking color contrasts leave spectators in awe.

Legend of the Festival

The Garment Festival of the Yi people in the Zhiqu area of Zhonghe Township, Yongren County, Yunnan, commonly known as the “Clothing Festival,” originates from a beautiful, mystical, and alluring legend. It is said that long ago, brothers Chaoliruo and Chaolaruo came from Yiliba to the heart of Zhiqu for hunting and discovered that the mountains were green, the waters clear, and the soil fertile. They remarked, “If we could plant millet here, it would surely yield abundant harvests year after year.” As they bent down to drink the sweet spring water, three grains of millet rolled out of their quiver. Ignoring their thirst, the brothers hurried to gather the seeds and scattered them in a mud pond, wishing, “If this is a place where our people can settle, may these three grains grow into three large clusters, each as thick and long as a horse’s tail.” Not long after, the brothers returned with blankets, bows, and farming tools to tend to the crops. As fate would have it, the three grains did indeed grow into three large clusters, which had golden ears that were as thick and long as a horse’s tail. The brothers brought back the harvest, and news spread throughout the villages. Many villagers followed the Chaoliruo brothers to Zhiqu, and large tracts of land were cultivated, planting seedlings for buckwheat, wheat, beans, and sesame. By the golden autumn, every family in the Yi villages celebrated a bountiful harvest.

To honor the brothers for their contributions to developing Zhiqu, the elders were determined to find them suitable partners. When the elders consulted the brothers about whom they preferred, Chaoliruo said he would marry the girl who was skillful, while Chaolaruo expressed his love for the natural beauty of Zhiqu and said he would marry the girl who could embroider the mountains and rivers of Zhiqu onto her clothing. The elders announced the brothers’ conditions for choosing brides throughout the village and decreed that all the village girls would participate in a garment competition on the mountaintop, in the woods, and under the green canopies on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month the following year. Thus, the village girls busily prepared during the slack farming season: planting mulberry, spinning threads, dyeing threads, cutting, sewing, and embroidering—until the fifteenth day finally arrived. Early in the morning, the elders donned their festive attire, while the Chaoliruo brothers and other young men dressed handsomely. The girls, wearing their self-embroidered garments, flocked to the competition site, where the brothers carefully toured the entire venue, examining the outfits worn by all the girls and each choosing their intended.

To inherit the beautiful, mystical, and alluring legend, the Yi people wear their newly embroidered clothing every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, gathering to compete, sing, and dance, mirroring the brothers’ search for their loved ones. This tradition has been passed down through generations, forming the Yi people’s traditional Garment Festival. In 1987, American cultural expert Mark Bendel traveled a great distance to Zhiqu to attend the Garment Festival and later wrote enthusiastically about it in “Pig Shooting—The Tiger Man with Copper Cannon,” introducing the grandeur of the Zhiqu Garment Festival to the overseas audience.

To promote ethnic traditional culture and raise awareness of the Yongren Yi Garment Festival, various activities are held each year, including Yi clothing competitions, ethnic and folk sports competitions, torch celebrations, mountain songs, Yi cultural inheritance, Bimo performances, and street fairs.

Historical Significance

The Yi “Garment Festival,” which embodies ancient history and rich cultural traditions, originates from ancient sacrificial and “huotou” handover ceremonies. According to historical records, it has a history of over six hundred years. With the opening of the ancient salt road from Shiyang Salt Wells to Sichuan, it has witnessed the fusion of Sichuan and Yi cultures. As an important post along this ancient salt road, Zhiqu has incorporated many new elements into its traditional sacrificial activities, encompassing religious beliefs, agricultural rituals, and various cultural expressions, including clothing, songs, dances, and music. It represents a unique cultural landscape of the Yi people, integrating song and dance competitions, clothing displays, ethnic sports, and trade exchanges. There is a saying among the locals: “When the hulusi sounds, the feet begin to itch.” At present’s garment competition, elderly grandmothers dance alongside toddlers who have just learned to walk—everyone joyfully dances, showcasing the beauty of their costumes. With thousands of participants and spectators, the atmosphere is lively and grand. Most Yi clothing is predominantly red, with “rooster hats” worn atop, and the entire ensemble, including clothes, pants, shoes, and hats, is adorned with stunning colors and intricate embroidery, creating a breathtaking world of flowers.

Nature of the Festival

The garment competition is not only about displaying beautiful attire but also serves as an excellent venue for Yi youth to express their affections and find love. During the day, women of all ages dance together, led by a few elders who must lead the way for others to join in gradually. Many young girls change several vibrant outfits throughout the day to present themselves. All the males in the vicinity are only spectators and judges. During this time, some young men attentively observe and assess each girl on the dance floor, hoping to find a talented embroiderer to become their beloved. As night falls, it’s the time for these unmarried young men and women; many lovebirds secretly meet. It becomes a Yi masked dance party. Under the bright moonlight, young couples meet frequently, singing by the spring or whispering under the trees while the girls play leaf flutes and mouth harps, and the boys play bamboo flutes and hulusi. As the saying goes, “The garment competition lasts until sunset, and the dancing goes on until the moon is high.” In addition to the garment competition, the Yi Garment Festival also includes various ethnic sports competitions such as plowing, tying bundles, crossbow shooting, stilt walking, shoulder lifting, and rope pulling. This is the moment for Yi young men to demonstrate their strength and wisdom, and it is also essential for Yi girls to choose their life partners.

Festival Customs

In places like Yongren, Yunnan, the Yi people hold the annual Garment Festival. During this time, girls as young as six and elderly women up to eighty years old wear their most cherished and beautiful embroidered garments, flocking together to participate in the joyous Garment Festival, showcasing their exquisite skills and intelligence while learning from each other’s experience. They admire and exchange ideas, competing to see whose clothing is the most beautiful and whose skills are the best. They also sing and dance together until their joy finally disperses.

The Yi people are primarily distributed across Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Guangxi, with a population of over 6.57 million, the highest in Yunnan, accounting for over 4.05 million. The Yi are the largest ethnic minority in Yunnan, comprising about 60% of the overall Yi population in China. The Yi people are widely distributed throughout most counties and cities in Yunnan, with a more concentrated presence in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, the Ailao Mountain region, the Wumeng Mountain area, and the Daliang Mountain area in northwestern Yunnan. The Yi have a long history, with their own language and script, and their folk cultural arts are vibrant and diverse. Their “Solar Calendar” and “Twelve Animal Zodiac” have unique features. They are known by various names, mainly including Sani and Axi.

Traditional Culture

The “Garment Festival” serves as a “living fossil” of Yi traditional culture and is a prominent expression of it, possessing significant anthropological, ethnological, and folkloric research value. Therefore, Yongren County is applying for the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage status for the “Garment Festival.”

The Garment Festival symbolizes the handover ritual of “huotou” power and associated sacrificial activities, presided over by the “huotou,” who embodies the religious, military, and political triad. Numerous ceremonial rites of primitive agricultural worship, ethnic beliefs, and cultural creations have been preserved in the activities of the Garment Festival. The Yi Garment Festival not only reflects the political organization forms of primitive tribes but also encompasses almost all forms of art within Yi culture, including song, dance, music, and embroidery. It showcases a diverse spectrum of cultural expressions, including sacrificial culture, clothing culture, marriage customs, and cultural traditions of the ancient salt road. The most representative element is Yi clothing, richly adorned with flowers in bold colors, exquisite compositions, flexible stitching, and unique craftsmanship—each stitch an artwork, every flower and petal a cultural symbol. Throughout its long development, the accompanying song and dance arts have established their unique patterns, while the activities themselves continuously develop and enhance skills. Due to its significant impact on folk cultural life, it has become an essential stage for artisans in Yi folk songs, dances, music, and crafts to exchange and inherit their skills. It holds immeasurable value for studying the developmental history of Yi traditional music, dance, storytelling, and embroidery. The Yi Garment Festival is, therefore, a representative “business card” of the Yi people, a “living fossil” of traditional Yi culture.

Fashion Show

The Lantern Festival is also the annual “Garment Festival” of some Yi in Yongren County and Dayao County in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, where Yi girls can fully display the beauty of their clothing and adornments. It is said that the Yi have been holding the “Garment Festival” on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month for hundreds of years. Early in the morning, girls don their carefully embroidered garments from the past year, as bright as the blossoming mountain peach flowers, playfully making their way along the mountain paths to the “Garment Competition.” Young Yi men, in groups of three or five, play hulusi flutes, seeking their beloved at the competition. Fathers and mothers also come, concerned about their children’s lifelong affairs. Brothers from nearby ethnic groups also arrive to witness the talented Yi girls showcase their clothing.

Yi women are skilled embroiderers, deriving inspiration from nature—elements like rain, thunder, the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, wood, stone, animals, and flowers feature prominently in their embroidery. They do not just embroider flowers on hats, clothes, and waist wraps; they also create various patterns on bags, shoes, and insoles, making their artworks simple in composition, exaggerated in form, striking in tone, and vividly colorful, to provide an aesthetic delight.

Competition Format

The garment competition begins at noon with a collective match. Each village’s skilled embroiderers form teams, entering the stage one after another, dancing gracefully to the accompaniment of suona and lusheng, showcasing their beautiful clothing and elegant dance moves to win honor for their village. After the group performances, families spread out for free performances. Some families, dressed in beautiful clothes, gather under trees for people to admire their lovely apparel while enjoying the delicious foods they’ve brought. Others hang their embroidered hats, waist wraps, hand sleeves, and lace pants on trees or lay them on the ground for public display, reminiscent of a clothing exhibition.

At the competition site, some girls constantly change their outfits, swapping seven or eight pieces in a single day. They wear one outfit and stroll through the crowd to attract attention, showcasing their skills. If a young Yi man has eyes for a girl, he might sneak away with one of her embroidered pieces to the woods outside. If the girl is uninterested, she may ignore him, and the young man would naturally return the embroidered gift. However, if she has feelings for him, she playfully demands her piece back and runs after the young man into the woods.

The “Garment Festival” does not have judges or rankings; it ultimately depends on the feelings of the lovers whether they see the most skillful and beautiful. At noon, groups of Yi girls dressed in pink outfits elegantly arrive, filling the venue with bright colors. The competition ground has become a sea of people, as thousands of tourists from Kunming, Dayao, Yuanmou, and Panzhihua in Sichuan flock to Zhiqu, converging at this high-altitude area of 2,189 meters. They enjoy a cup of Yi rice wine and taste sweet honey-covered buckwheat cakes.

After a sincere offering by the Bimo elder for the successful hosting of the Garment Festival, teams of participants from all ages join hands to the accompaniment of lusheng, performing traditional Yi “three stomps” dances and showcasing the garments they have lovingly embroidered and sewn.

Characteristics of Clothing

Upon closer examination, each person’s clothing possesses unique features. The compositions and color usage differ greatly. The simplicity and complexity in the designs, the exaggerated forms of the images, and contrasting tones leave a lasting impression. Guests who have come to experience the festival are enraptured by the scene. Teams of skilled embroiderers dance to the sounds of suona and lusheng, the brilliant colors clashing vibrantly with the interplay of light and shadow. It feels as though the world morphs into a kaleidoscope of beauty, with dazzling and unusual clothing aesthetics and vibrant yet elegant colors exuding endless charm.

The Garment Festival is a celebration of beauty and intellect, showcasing the creativity and skill of Yi women to the fullest. They stitch vibrant threads into expressions of their longing, love, and experiences of beauty. They embroider not only on hats, clothes, and pants but also on bags, shoes, and insoles, filling them with intricate designs.

Dancing

“Dancing” is another important activity of the Garment Festival. People form a circle hand-in-hand, joyfully singing and dancing to the tune of the erhu. The melody and steps transition from soft to strong, gradually quickening. As the dance reaches its climax, the movements become more synchronized, creating an upbeat and lively atmosphere. In the evening, the moon shines brightly, as if just lifted from the water, illuminating the night sky and casting the layered peaks in a snowy glow. Bonfires dot the clearing as young men and women clasp hands, dancing joyfully to the beautiful melodies of the erhu and graceful music until dawn.

Introduction to the Torch Festival

• Chinese Name: 楚雄市彝族火把节
• English Name: Torch Festival of Yi Ethnic Minority in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong Prefecture
• Location: Chuxiong City, Chuxiong Prefecture

The Torch Festival is a symbol of Yi culture, celebrated during the Yi New Year, and is the most important and grandest festival in Yi tradition. With rich folk cultural connotations, it is renowned both domestically and internationally, often referred to as the “Carnival of the East.”

Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture is one of the two Yi autonomous prefectures in China and is the most popular and grandest region for the Torch Festival in the country. In 2005, the “Chuxiong Yi Torch Festival” was included in the first batch of the national intangible cultural heritage protection list.

Throughout history, on the night of the Torch Festival each year, various ethnic groups celebrate together in the same region. From villages to towns, from mountains to plains, everyone lights torches and gathers hand in hand to form a circle, singing and dancing. Elders play the dusty moon guitar, young men play flutes that have not been touched for a long time, and young women play the mouth harp hanging on their chests, praying for a bountiful harvest and thriving livestock, while singing about a beautiful life. Under the moonlight, torches flicker and bonfires blaze like stars falling from the sky, creating a world of fire and an ocean of song and dance.

In today’s era of reform and opening up, illuminated by the brilliance of the party’s ethnic policies, the Torch Festival has gained new dimensions of mass participation, entertainment, and diversity. People not only inherit and carry forward its fine traditions but also integrate the spirit of the times, creating a new scene. For example, during the festival, numerous domestic and international tourists flock to the area for shopping and trading, often outnumbering the locals. The Torch Festival has become a means and opportunity to attract people from all walks of life for sightseeing, tourism, and trade discussions.

Various cultural and sporting performances are becoming increasingly rich and colorful year by year, and folk festivals naturally transform into regional festivals, evolving from rural celebrations to urban and rural events, and from a single-ethnic festival to a multi-ethnic shared celebration. Few people truly know and understand the Yi people, but when the “Torch Festival” and “Axi Dance” are mentioned, they will not feel unfamiliar. However, to truly appreciate the authentic Torch Festival, one must be in the countryside, especially in remote villages away from urban areas, to experience the genuine customs and traditions.

The Torch Festival is not only a traditional holiday for every family but also a time for relatives and friends to gather and socialize, enriching lives and promoting neighborly friendships.

Legend of the Torch Festival

Long ago, in a Yi village at the foot of Hongshan near Zhaojiadian in Dayao County, there lived a smart, beautiful, and kind-hearted girl named Nuona, who was deeply in love with a brave young man named Acha from a nearby village. That year, the insidious and cruel mountain chief Moha chose a girl to be his angry concubine, hoping to occupy the beautiful Nuona for himself. Under Moha’s oppressive rule, the brave Acha, using cleverness to overcome strength, defeated the treacherous Moha with his superb skills. In anger, Moha used witchcraft to crack the earth beneath them, causing Acha to fall into an abyss. Fortunately, he was rescued by the villagers.

While Acha was in peril, Nuona faced the dangers of Moha’s clutches. Moha led his soldiers to surround Nuona’s home, trying to take her as his bride. To avoid being captured, Nuona climbed down a cliff and fled her home in search of Acha. Exhausted, she tragically died at the bottom of the cliff. Her figure is said to eternally reflect on the cliff, which is why it is called “White Person Cliff.” After being rescued from the split mountain, Acha rushed straight to Nuona’s home, only to find her parents had been killed by Moha. Heartbroken, he buried them and searched through the mountains until he finally discovered Nuona’s white silhouette left on Hongya.

Desperate, Acha considered jumping off the cliff to be with Nuona. The villagers came to dissuade him and discussed revenge with him. The next day (June 25), Acha and villagers from eight mountains and three towns marched toward Moha’s home carrying thousands of torches, burning down Moha’s palace and killing the wicked Moha, avenging Nuona and relieving the villagers’ hatred.

Traditionally, the “Torch Festival” is held on June 24 of the lunar calendar, but it is celebrated on “June 25” here because it commemorates the day when the brave Acha and the villagers avenged their sorrow. On the day of the Torch Festival, people in the Yi villages light torches made of pine wood, using the blazing flames to illuminate their surroundings, burn away insects, ward off evil, and symbolize good fortune and happiness. Participants exchange torches as a sign of respect, and burn “Zhu Chong” (a form of offering), to signify cleanliness and peace. They then take torches into the fields, waving them to attract moths and burn pests. After the parade, they place the torches at the edges of the fields and in open areas before gathering around the fire to dance joyfully, while the elders sit nearby, opening fragrant fire wine and toasting each other, wishing for good fortune. People also bring home their married daughters for the celebration. On this day, pigs and sheep are slaughtered, and families share meals to signify reunions.

On the day of the Torch Festival, mountain people from nearby Yuanmou, Yongren, Longjie, and other places bring their mountain goods and local products, riding mules and horses over the hills to Zhaojiadian. They set up tents and cook, displaying rows of fresh produce and bowls of fragrant lamb and beef soup, enchanting passersby. At night, on relatively flat hillsides, bonfires are lit, and Yi young men play the sanxian (three-stringed lute) while the young women join hands and dance around the fires, amidst the crackling flames that rise high into the sky, dancing until dawn.

Activities of the Torch Festival

• Left Foot Dance
• Bullfighting
• Horse Riding

The festival lasts for three days. The Yi people believe that celebrating the Torch Festival will cause the grain spikes to grow thick like torches. The descendants use this festival to honor the fire and drive away evil spirits from their homes and fields, ensuring safety for people and livestock. During the festival, young men and women from various ethnic groups light torches made of pine wood and participate in various activities in the villages and fields, walking while sprinkling resin on the torches to pray for prosperity and eliminate impurities; they may engage in dances, bullfighting, wrestling, horseback riding, shooting, torch performances, and releasing sky lanterns; or hold large bonfire parties for all-night revelry. Additionally, trade activities are conducted during the festivities.

Delicious Foods of the Torch Festival

The Torch Festival is also a time for feasting throughout the year. Although the organization and activities of the Torch Festival among the Yi people in Chuxiong vary, the custom of each family preparing the best dishes to feast with their households, the entire village, or inviting friends and guests is universal.

Due to their living environment, the Yi people of Chuxiong have developed unique dietary customs. Animal-based foods mainly include pigs, sheep, cattle, chickens, and insects; plant-based foods consist primarily of wild fungi, flowers, and leaves. Staple foods include rice, corn, wheat, potatoes, and buckwheat. Cooking methods vary, including roasting, frying, steaming, boiling, pickling, pounding, and chopping. Beverages include homemade rice wine, fire jar wine, and tea, and sweet wine can be made from pumpkins, bananas, and buckwheat.

The Yi culinary repertoire features many dishes, such as lamb soup, stir-fried walnut flowers, dry-fried banana hearts, buckwheat cakes, pickled tender shoots, corn rice, cold mixed bananas, pork with poria, water celery, cold mixed flower tree, tofu sausage, fish heart grass, boiled wild yam, fungi, frogs, cold mixed green prickly ash, cold mixed podocarpus branches, stir-fried soapberry, etc.

Delicious Foods of the Torch Festival

• Lamb Soup

The Yi people are a community that worships fire, and the “Torch Festival” is the most grand and culturally distinctive traditional festival with widespread participation in Chuxiong Prefecture. Celebrating the Torch Festival not only promotes and preserves Yi culture but also showcases Chuxiong’s charm and enriches festive culture, while also promoting the scientific, harmonious, and leapfrog development of the economy and society in Chuxiong.

Chinese Name: 彝族梅葛文化
English Name:Meige Culture of Yi Ethnic Minority

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Chinese Name:楚雄滇菌王大酒店
English Name: Dianjunwang Hotel in Chuxiong City

Plan your Chuxiong Ethnic Villages Tour to Chuxiong? Visit Majiazhuang Village of Lvhe Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong which is one of the most fascinating ethnic villages in Chuxiong. Explore the local folk ethnic culture including History, Food and Dining, Clothing, Customs and Traditions, Architecture, Festivals, Crafts, Religion, Language of local ethnic people in Majiazhuang Village of Lvhe Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong.

Chinese Name: 楚雄州楚雄市吕合镇中屯村委会马家庄村
English Name: Majiazhuang Village of Lvhe Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong

Plan your Chuxiong Ethnic Villages Tour to Chuxiong? Visit Lvhe Village of Lvhe Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong which is one of the most fascinating ethnic villages in Chuxiong. Explore the local folk ethnic culture including History, Food and Dining, Clothing, Customs and Traditions, Architecture, Festivals, Crafts, Religion, Language of local ethnic people in Lvhe Village of Lvhe Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong.

Chinese Name: 楚雄州楚雄市吕合镇吕合村委会吕合村
English Name: Lvhe Village of Lvhe Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong

Plan your Chuxiong Ethnic Villages Tour to Chuxiong? Visit Yikoukua Village of Ziwu Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong which is one of the most fascinating ethnic villages in Chuxiong. Explore the local folk ethnic culture including History, Food and Dining, Clothing, Customs and Traditions, Architecture, Festivals, Crafts, Religion, Language of local ethnic people in Yikoukua Village of Ziwu Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong.

Chinese Name: 楚雄彝族自治州楚雄市子午镇以口夸村
English Name: Yikoukua Village of Ziwu Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong Prefecture

Plan your Chuxiong Ethnic Villages Tour to Chuxiong? Visit Majia Village of Juxiang Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong which is one of the most fascinating ethnic villages in Chuxiong. Explore the local folk ethnic culture including History, Food and Dining, Clothing, Customs and Traditions, Architecture, Festivals, Crafts, Religion, Language of local ethnic people in Majia Village of Juxiang Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong.

Chinese Name: 楚雄州楚雄市苴乡马家村
English Name: Majia Village of Juxiang Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong Prefecture

Chinese Name: 楚雄市树苴乡
English Name: Shuju Town of Chuxiong City in Chuxiong Prefecture

Chuxiong City Travel Guide

Things To Do

• Chuxiong City Overview
• Chuxiong City Attractions
• Chuxiong City Tours
• Chuxiong City Shopping
• Chuxiong City Culture
• Festivals and Activities

Travel Information

• Chuxiong City Travel Tips
• Chuxiong City Climate
• Chuxiong City Transportation
• Chuxiong City Maps
• Chuxiong City Photos
• Chuxiong City Dining
• Chuxiong City Accommodation
• Chuxiong City Education
• Chuxiong City Travel News
• Administrative Divisions

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Chuxiong City

Chuxiong City Travel Guide includes Chuxiong attractions,Chuxiong tours, accommodation, climate, transportation, travel tips, maps, photos, shopping and dining.

Chinese Bayberry Festival in Chuxiong City

Overview Chinese Name: 楚雄市杨梅节 English Name: Chinese Bayberry Festival in Chuxiong City Location:楚雄市中山镇，大过口乡，三街镇/Chuxiong City, Zhongshan Town, Daguokou Township. Sanjie Town Lengends of the Festival Every year on the sixth...

Festivals and Events    Veiw

• Chuxiong
• Chuxiong City

Inviting God Playing Festival of Yi Ethnic Minority in Chuxiong City

Overview Chinese Name: 楚雄市三街镇请神来玩节 English Name: Inviting God Playing Festival of Yi Ethnic Minority in Chuxiong City Location: 楚雄市三街镇上新房村委会大丫口村/Dayakou Village, Shangxinfang Village Committee, Sanjie Town, Chuxiong City Lengend of the...

Festivals and Events    Veiw

• Chuxiong
• Chuxiong City
• Festivals of Yi Ethnic Minority

Chuxiong Nationalities Saizhuang (Costume Competition) Festival

Basic Introduction Chinese Name: 楚雄民族赛装文化节 English Name: Chuxion Nationalities Saizhuang (Costume Competition) Festival Location: Chuxiong City Festival Dates:March 28th, and the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The...

Festivals and Events    Veiw

• Chuxiong
• Chuxiong City

Torch Festival of Yi Ethnic Minority in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong Prefecture

Introduction to the Torch Festival Chinese Name: 楚雄市彝族火把节 English Name: Torch Festival of Yi Ethnic Minority in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong Prefecture Location: Chuxiong City, Chuxiong Prefecture The Torch Festival...

Festivals and Events    Veiw

• Chuxiong
• Chuxiong City
• Festivals of Yi Ethnic Minority

Meige Culture of Yi Ethnic Minority

Chinese Name: 彝族梅葛文化 English Name:Meige Culture of Yi Ethnic Minority http://www.ynich.cn/view-ml-11111-1156.html...

Culture    Veiw

• Chuxiong
• Chuxiong City
• Yi Ethnic Minority

Jianhua Internatianal Hotel in Chuxiong City

Book the Jianhua Internatianal Hotel in Chuxiong City and stay at cheap Inn and Guesthouse. Enjoy the free WiFi, free parking, nice entertainment and visit the popular tourist attractions...

Accommodation    Veiw

• Chuxiong
• Chuxiong City

Dianjunwang Hotel in Chuxiong City

Book the Dianjunwang Hotel in Chuxiong City and stay at cheap Inn and Guesthouse. Enjoy the free WiFi, free parking, nice entertainment and visit the popular tourist attractions around...

Accommodation    Veiw

• Chuxiong
• Chuxiong City

Majiazhuang Village of Lvhe Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong

Plan your Chuxiong Ethnic Villages Tour to Chuxiong? Visit Majiazhuang Village of Lvhe Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong which is one of the most fascinating ethnic villages in Chuxiong....

Attractions    Veiw

• Chuxiong
• Chuxiong City
• Traditional Ethnic Villages in Chuxiong

Lvhe Village of Lvhe Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong

Plan your Chuxiong Ethnic Villages Tour to Chuxiong? Visit Lvhe Village of Lvhe Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong which is one of the most fascinating ethnic villages in Chuxiong....

Attractions    Veiw

• Chuxiong
• Chuxiong City
• Traditional Ethnic Villages in Chuxiong

Yikoukua Village of Ziwu Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong Prefecture

Plan your Chuxiong Ethnic Villages Tour to Chuxiong? Visit Yikoukua Village of Ziwu Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong which is one of the most fascinating ethnic villages in Chuxiong....

Attractions    Veiw

• Chuxiong
• Chuxiong City
• Traditional Ethnic Villages in Chuxiong

Majia Village of Juxiang Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong Prefecture

Plan your Chuxiong Ethnic Villages Tour to Chuxiong? Visit Majia Village of Juxiang Town in Chuxiong City, Chuxiong which is one of the most fascinating ethnic villages in Chuxiong....

Attractions    Veiw

• Chuxiong
• Chuxiong City
• Traditional Ethnic Villages in Chuxiong

Shuju Town of Chuxiong City in Chuxiong Prefecture

Chinese Name: 楚雄市树苴乡 English Name: Shuju Town of Chuxiong City in Chuxiong Prefecture...

Administrative Divisions    Veiw

• Chuxiong
• Chuxiong City