The 2024 Torch Festival in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and Cultural Tourism Series are in Full Swing
August 06 2024 - 2:02AM
Recently, the month-long 2024 Torch Festival in Liangshan Yi
Autonomous Prefecture and the "Colorful Liangshan-Summertime
Coolness" cultural and tourism series are being held in 17
counties and cities in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan
Province, China, with staggered organization at different
times. Folklore performances, beauty contests, torch
processions, bonfire parties, and a wealth of traditional folk
festivals attract many tourists to experience.
The People's Government of Liangshan Yi Autonomous
Prefecture introduced that focused on the region's
distinctive resource strengths, various parts of Liangshan have
held a series of distinctive cultural and tourism activities
between July 19 and August 19. Zhaojue County held the "Liangshan
State Horse Racing and Athletic Activity", the men of the Yi people
showed "speed and passion" on the plateau; Xichang carried out the
torch music carnival in Xingyue Lake Park, invited local famous
artists to participate in the performance and taste the Liangshan
cuisine with the sound of music. At the opening ceremony of the
traditional torch festival held in Butou County, girls in Yi dress
showed the traditional Yi group dance "Duo Luohe" in a circle with
yellow paper umbrellas. From a distance, the dance was like yellow
flower blossoming one after another. Ms. Wang, a tourist from
Chengdu, expressed that she had already experienced the torch
festival in Puge County, Butuan County and other places. "I
originally thought that the torch festival had nothing but a bit of
torch, but I didn't expect to watch so much original customary
activities that had their own characteristics."
The Torch Festival of the Yi is one of the most important
traditional festivals of the Yi people, a China's ethnic group. It
is included in the first batch of China's national intangible
cultural heritage list, and is popular in the areas of Sichuan,
Yunnan, Guizhou and other areas inhabited by the Yi people. The
festival is a continuation of the folk customs of using torches to
drive away the pests, praying for a good harvest and
worshiping their ancestors, which have been inherited for
thousands of years now.
Liangshan Prefecture, located in the southwest of Sichuan
Province, is China's largest settlement of Yi people as well as the
area with the largest population of ethnic categories and
groups in Sichuan Province, which has a unique charm of ethnic
culture. Erhuo Yuebu, a villager from Tiexi Village, Erjue
Township, Yuexi County, Liangshan Prefecture, says the torch
festival in his hometown is always bustling with activity, as he
sings, dances, parades around and visits friends and relatives. "No
matter where you are, you have to come home for the Torch Festival,
which is the day of reunion."
Nowadays, the torch festival is not only the most important
traditional festival of the Yi people, but also an inexhaustible
treasure trove of resources in the protection and inheritance,
revitalization and utilization of cultural tourism industry in
Liangshan. Torch carnival, Yi beauty pageant, wrestling, horse
racing and other folk activities, have all become popular cultural
tourism activities.
It is understood that on July 28 and 29, the capital of Sichuan
Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Xichang City, received a total
of about 757,000 visitors, more than 300,000 visitors participated
in the torch carnival.
Source: The People's Government of Liangshan Yi Autonomous
Prefecture
Contact person:
Ms. Hou,
Tel: 86-10-63074558