Guizhou Festival： Guizhou，a mountainous province in southwestern China, is home to 17 indigenous ethnic minority groups and hosts over 1,400 traditional festivals throughout the year. Learn about Guizhou’s ethnic groups, history, and festivals through this guide.
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- Overview of the Three Major Ethnic Groups
- Overview of Festivals of Other Ethnic Minorities
- Recommended Classic Traditional Festivals
- New Festivals in Guizhou
A Quick Overview of the Three Major Ethnic Groups
- Miao People: The largest ethnic minority group in Guizhou, renowned for their exquisite silver craftsmanship and embroidery. During festivals, women don elaborate ceremonial attire—featuring intricate floral and avian patterns—and wear massive silver headdresses shaped like horns while performing the Lusheng dance or the Golden Pheasant dance.
- Bouyei People: Traditionally dwelling near water and skilled in rice cultivation, the Bouyei are also masters of batik—a craft producing handmade textiles featuring white patterns on a blue background that evoke a natural aesthetic. Their traditional “Langshao” antiphonal singing serves as a courtship ritual for young men and women; notably, the custom requires a matchmaker to consume eight consecutive bowls of rice wine before inquiring about a prospective bride’s bazi (birth horoscope), a practice steeped in ritual significance.
- Dong People: Adhering to the philosophy that “food nourishes the body, while song nourishes the soul,” the Dong are celebrated for their polyphonic “Grand Song” (Dongzu Dage), performed without a conductor and recognized by the UN as Intangible Cultural Heritage. Furthermore, Dong villages are often distinguished by elegantly designed Drum Towers and Wind-and-Rain Bridges; these structures serve not only as architectural masterpieces but also as vital social hubs for the community.
A Quick Overview of Festivals of Other Ethnic Minorities
| Ethnic Group | Traditional Festival (Date) | Highlights |
| Yi People（彝族） | Torch Festival (24th day of the sixth lunar month, approximately early August) | Nighttime torch processions, bonfire celebrations |
| Shui People（水族） | Duan Festival (8th to 10th lunar months) | Shui script, horsehair embroidery, horse racing |
| Tujia Ethnic Group（土家族） | Gan Nian (The 29th day of the twelfth lunar month) | Baishou Dance, Nuotang Opera, Oil-tea Soup |
| Yao People（瑶族） | Panwang Festival (16th day of the 10th lunar month) | Long-drum dance, embroidery, and sacrificial rites honoring King Pan |
| Gelao People（仡佬族） | “Eating the New” Festival (7th lunar month) | “Pipa Gelao” (Cloaked Gelao) attire; traditional “Da Qin” (mock-combat) wedding custom |
There are far more than just these few ethnic minorities in Guizhou, but today we will first take a look at the province’s major ethnic minority groups.
Recommendations for Classic Traditional Festivals
The Miao People: A Celebration of Silver Jewelry and Lusheng Music
- Highlights: Silver forging, embroidery craftsmanship, grand festivals, Lusheng dance, Golden Pheasant dance.
Festivals Worth Experiencing：
- Sisters’ Festival (15th to 17th day of the third lunar month; mid-to-late April)
Hailed as the “oldest Valentine’s Day in the East,” the festival sees young women dressed in their finest attire, preparing colorful glutinous rice and joining young men in antiphonal singing and drum-dancing. If you receive a portion of glutinous rice containing a hidden bamboo hook or a red flower petal, it serves as a secret signal of romantic interest.
Here, you can taste colorful glutinous rice, learn a line or two of Miao songs, or chat with the village elders and listen to them recount ancient legends.
- Miao New Year (9th to 11th lunar months; approximately October to December)
This is the most important festival for the Miao people—akin to the Spring Festival—marking the harvest and honoring ancestors. Festivities feature a massive “Long-Table Banquet” attended by a thousand people, bullfighting competitions, and lusheng (reed-pipe) dance performances.
- Recommended Experience: If you enjoy dancing, you can join the lusheng dance procession and experience the spectacular atmosphere of the thousand-person Long-Table Banquet.
- Lusheng Festival (27th to 29th of the ninth lunar month, approximately early November)
During the festival, women in full ceremonial attire form a “long silver dragon” for a procession; the sound of the lusheng (bamboo pipe) intertwines with the tinkling of silver ornaments, creating a captivating and stirring atmosphere.
During this festival, you can witness ancient rituals such as the ancestral worship ceremony performed in the ceremonial hall and the welcoming salute of gunfire.
Which Miao village should you visit?
- Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village: The largest in scale; at night, the lights look like stars scattered across the mountainside.
- Langde Miao Village: Quieter, with daily traditional song and dance performances.
- Basha Miao Village: Men still wear ancient-style topknots and carry muskets; it is China’s last “Gunner Tribe.”
The Buyi People: Indigo Wax-Resist Dyeing and Songs by the Water
- Highlights: Handmade batik, Buyi “Bayin” seated musical performance, and distinctive stone-slab houses.
Festivals Worth Experiencing:
- March 3rd (Lunar March 3rd, usually in early April)
People worship the mountain god, perform grass dragon dances, and conduct “hide-and-seek” rituals, praying for favorable weather and abundant harvests throughout the year.
Recommended Experiences: Watch antiphonal singing and bamboo raft racing, and eat a piece of colorful glutinous rice.
- June 6th (the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, usually in mid-July)
This is one of the most important festivals for the Buyi people. People gather on hillsides or by rice paddies to sing folk songs, dance, and worship the field god.
Recommended experiences: Watch the field worship ceremony and taste five-colored glutinous rice and triangular rice dumplings.
- Chabai Song Festival (June 21st on the lunar calendar, usually in early August)
Commemorates a faithful couple named Cha Lang and Bai Mei. Young people dress in their finest attire, sing songs, and socialize in a relaxed and lively atmosphere.
Recommended experience: Watch the event from the audience area.
Which Buyi village should you visit for an experience?
- Wanfenglin Nahui Village: Backed by karst peaks, it’s famous for its batik and traditional Bayin singing.
- Zhenning Shitouzhai: Houses are all built of stone; also a batik-producing area.
- Xingyi Waga Village: Preserves the high-platform lion dance; the village is very traditional.
Dong ethnic group: choral singing without accompaniment, and architecture without nails.
- Highlights: Drum Tower and Wind and Rain Bridge
Festivals Worth Experiencing:
- Dong New Year (November 1st to 11th of the lunar calendar, usually in mid-December)
The grandest festival of the Dong people, where the entire village worships their ancestors, enjoys a reunion dinner, and performs Dong opera. The streets are filled with women in brightly colored costumes, their necks adorned with multiple layers of silver necklaces.
Recommended Experience: Stroll and watch the performances. They are very willing to take photos with you if you wish.
- New Rice Festival (Lunar June to August, usually July to September)
The new rice is ripe, and people use it to make various foods. First, they offer these to their ancestors, then invite relatives and friends to enjoy the fresh harvest.
Recommended Experience: Try the rice and pastries made with the new rice. If you’re lucky, you might even participate in the rice harvest.
- Sama Festival (January or February of the lunar calendar, usually February to March)
“Sama” is the great ancestral goddess of the Dong ethnic group. This festival is primarily for women and is known as the Dong Women’s Festival. Activities include a village-wide parade, grass dragon dance, singing grand songs, and dancing the Duoye dance (a circle dance where people hold hands).
Recommended experience: Join the Duoye dance circle; no learning is required, just follow along.
Which Dong village should you visit for an experience?
- Zhaoxing Dong Village: The premier Dong village, boasting the most drum towers.
- Xiaohuang Dong Village: The birthplace of Dong folk songs, the pure and melodious singing is truly breathtaking.
- Zhanli Dong Village: Known for its simple and honest folk customs, famous for the ancient tradition of “every family having one son and one daughter.”
Besides the above-mentioned ethnic minority festivals, Guizhou also has many famous new-style festivals.
Guizhou’s new festivals
“Village Super League”—The villagers’ own football league
- Time: May to August each year (most lively on weekend evenings, with the finals in mid-to-late August)
- Location: Rongjiang County Gymnasium, next to Sanbao Dong Village
Here you can see local farmers, vendors, or students, most of them barefoot or wearing ordinary sneakers. After a goal is scored, there will be live performances of Dong folk songs and Miao lusheng (a traditional reed pipe instrument), making it even more exciting than a professional football match. Outside the stadium, you can sample Rongjiang rice noodle rolls, pickled fish, and beef offal hot pot (if you dare).
“Village T” – Intangible Cultural Heritage Ethnic Costume Fashion Show
- Time: Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 19:00 – 21:30
- Location: Miao and Dong Ethnic Cultural Park, Kaili City
The models weren’t professional, but rather the village’s grandmothers, children, and artisans. Wearing clothes they embroidered themselves, their silver ornaments jingling, they exuded a vitality far surpassing that of fashion week. You can also learn Miao embroidery, batik, silverwork, or even dance the Lusheng dance on-site, and perhaps find some pretty little trinkets while you’re at it.
Guizhou Festival Travel Itinerary Planning
We can design a personalized Guizhou festival route for you based on the type of festivals you wish to see, the length of your stay, and the style of the villages you prefer (lively or quiet).
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