Longduan Street Festival
Name: Longduan Street Festival for the Zhuang people
Date: in the third lunar month
Longduan Street is a grand festival popular among the Zhuangs in Guangnan and Funing areas in Yunnan Province. Held in the third lunar month, the fair attracts tens of thousands visitors every year.
The "street" here actually refers to field dam, and the festival calls on the people to gather in the vast fields. The festival lasts for three to five days, during which young people will seek mates. There are also activities including singing, dancing and trading.
During the festival, the Zhuangs will put on the traditional Zhuang opera on a provisional open theater. With the noise of firecracker and the beat of gongs and drums, the opera attract flocks of visitors.
Young people are the most vibrant group during the festival. They come to know each other by dancing and singing together and even vote for "the man of the year" and "the woman of the year" according to their looks and talents.
When a young man has a crush on a woman, he would fire a question by singing, and if the woman likes him too, she would take the question. The singing conversation will continue through the whole night until dawn. Men will give jewelry, cosmetics or even money to women they like, and women would give food and shoes made in cloth in return. The festival is a great opportunity for the Zhuangs to express their feelings of love and look for their life partner.
During the festival, the villages are all packed with visitors. Some of them sell daily necessities and agricultural by-products.The trading volume increases every year. |
