Vibrant festival highlights cultural charm of various Chinese ethnic groups

People pose for a group photo during a celebration of the Sanyuesan Festival in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 11, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua)

NANNING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A kaleidoscope of colors and cultural richness unfolded in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region as the annual Sanyuesan Festival was celebrated with great fervor.

The Sanyuesan Festival is a traditional festival celebrated by various ethnic groups in China on the third day of the third lunar month. People in Guangxi, southwest China's Guizhou and Yunnan provinces, south China's Hainan Province, and other places gathered together to celebrate the festival -- singing folk songs, exhibiting intangible cultural heritage, and engaging in special ethnic sports activities.

Listed as a national intangible cultural heritage and a statutory holiday in Guangxi in 2014, the festival usually sees various ethnic cultural activities organized across the region, which has the largest population of ethnic minorities in China.

This year, Guangxi has launched a splendid array of folk cultural activities, and its 14 cities have planned and organized a slew of events, incorporating regional characteristics and cultural highlights and offering a prolonged period of cultural festivities for residents and visitors.

With this traditional ethnic festival attracting increasing attention and participation, it has gradually evolved into a grand celebration shared and enjoyed by people of all ethnic groups and become a renowned cultural tourism brand.

"Guangxi welcomes people to delve into the Zhuang and Miao ethnic villages and experience the diverse activities, immersing themselves in the richest cultural essence of Guangxi's ethnic groups," said Ban Huaqin, deputy head of the regional department of culture and tourism.

Riding this wave of growing interest, some social media platforms have launched short video projects featuring ethnic costumes. People's fervor for ethnic costumes directly boosts the manufacturing industry and sales of items with key phrases such as "Sanyuesan clothing" and "ethnic costume."

"Wearing ethnic clothing when participating in activities during the festival and taking photos and sharing them on social media, I feel that I've also caught up with the trend," said Li Xiaohuan, a resident in Nanning, who bought a blue piece of ethnic Zhuang minority clothing in advance of the festival.

Vibrant folk sports activities like the sparkler-grabbing game, with rules similar to rugby, attract lots of spectators, including local fans and tourists, and serve as catalysts for ethnic integration.

Offering rich celebration activities and a strong festive atmosphere, the Sanyuesan Festival has attracted more and more students from Southeast Asian countries, said Vu Minh Anh, a Vietnamese student at Guangxi Arts University.

The Sanyuesan Festival has developed into a grand occasion for all ethnic groups to showcase cultural charm, promote economic development, and foster ethnic unity. It has allowed the diverse ethnic groups in China to exude a stronger vitality and vigor in the inheritance and development of culture.

Li Binsu, an official of the regional Party Committee, said that the Sanyuesan Festival is a traditional festival of the Chinese nation, a grand event carrying forward fine traditional Chinese culture, demonstrating the charm of ethnic culture and promoting ethnic unity.