Sanyuesan Festival highlights Bouyei ethnic culture in Guiyang, SW China

The Xinpu Sanyuesan Ethnic Culture Festival kicks off in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo by Yang Qian/People's Daily Online) 

On April 19, the Sanyuesan Ethnic Culture Festival kicked off in Xinpu Bouyei township, Wudang district, Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province. The Sanyuesan Festival is a traditional festival celebrated on the third day of the third lunar month by various ethnic groups in China. In Xinpu, the immersive folk celebration, which blends tradition with interactive experiences, invites visitors to step into the vibrant springtime traditions of the Bouyei ethnic group.

The event featured a rich display of ethnic culture. Alongside lively dragon dance parades, a series of intangible cultural heritage performances, including the flower-stick dance and flower-drum dance, were staged in turn. Dressed in exquisite traditional costumes, local Bouyei residents expressed festive joy through graceful dances and melodious folk songs.

Visitors were encouraged to join the parade, participate in singing and dancing, sip the traditional welcoming rice wine, and try the bamboo pole dance. Through close interaction, they experienced firsthand the vitality and warmth of Bouyei culture.

Listed as a municipal-level intangible cultural heritage item in Guiyang in 2009, the Xinpu Sanyuesan Festival has, over the years, developed into one of the city's most influential ethnic cultural brands. The vibrant celebration not only revitalizes traditional customs but also promotes cultural exchange among different ethnic groups, offering a shared cultural experience infused with the spirit of spring.

Participants perform the bamboo pole dance during the Xinpu Sanyuesan Ethnic Culture Festival in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo by Yang Qian/People's Daily Online) 

Participants perform the bamboo pole dance during the Xinpu Sanyuesan Ethnic Culture Festival in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo by Yang Qian/People's Daily Online) 

Visitors are offered traditional welcoming rice wine during the Xinpu Sanyuesan Ethnic Culture Festival in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo by Yang Qian/People's Daily Online) 

Participants perform the bamboo pole dance during the Xinpu Sanyuesan Ethnic Culture Festival in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo by Yang Qian/People's Daily Online)

A vibrant display of ethnic culture at the Xinpu Sanyuesan Ethnic Culture Festival in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo by Yang Qian/People's Daily Online)

The Xinpu Sanyuesan Ethnic Culture Festival kicks off in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo courtesy of the local government)