Festivals

China is both an ancient country with a history as long as 5,000 years and a big family with 56 nationalities. China boasts a variety of unique and attractive festivals thanks to the long history of these nationalities as well as the different natural and cultrual environments in which they live. Many festivals are celebrated national wide, also there are festivals defined in certain area.

Nationwide Festival

Spring Festival
Date: 1st day of the 1st lunar month
Place: Nationwide
Activities: Firecrackers, gift money to children, family dinner,shousui etc

Lantern Festival
Date: The 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month
Place: Nationwide
Activities: Displaying lanterns, eating yuanxiao

Qing Ming Festival
Date: Early in April
Place: Nationwide
Activities: Sweeping the tombs, picnic etc

Dragon Boat Festival
Date: The 5th day of the 5th lunar month
Place: Nationwide
Activities: Dragon Boat Races, eating Zong Zi etc

Hungry Ghost Festival
Date: The 15th day of the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar
Place: Nationwide
Activities: Offering food, burning ghost money, burying and releasing miniature paper boats and lanterns on water

Mid-Autumn Festival
Date: The 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar
Place: Nationwide
Activities: Family dinner, moon appreciation and eating moon cakes

Double Ninth Festival
Date: The 9th day of the 9th month of the Chinese lunar calendar
Place: Nationwide
Activities: Hill-climbing, drinking chrysanthemum wine, hanging dogwood sprays etc

Double Seventh Festival
Date: The seventh day of the seventh month on the Chinese lunar calendar
Place: Nationwide
Activities: Pray, exhibition

Winter Solistic
Date: December 22 or 23
Place: Nationwide
Activities: Offering scarifies to Heaven and ancestors, eating dumplings

Laba Festival
Date: The 8th day of the last lunar month
Place: Nationwide
Activities: eating Laba rice porridge

Kitchen God Day
Date: The 23rd day of the 12th month
Place: Nationwide
Activities: Offering sacrifices to the god

Minority Festivals

Water-Splashing Festival
Date: New Year's Day on the Dai calendar is usually in the middle of April.
Place: Yunnan Province
Activities: Praying, peacock dance, dragon-boat racing, water sprinkling etc.

Tibetan New Year
Date: January 1st on Tibetan calendar
Place: Tibet
Activities: Lucky signs painting, wrestling, horse racing etc.

Shoton Festival
Date: Late June and early July in Tibetan calendar
Place: Lhasa, Tibet
Activities: Buddha Painting Show, visiting Norbu Linka, Tibetan opera etc.

Nadam Fair
Date: Between July and August every year
Place: Inner Mongolia
Activities: Horse racing, wrestling, archery etc.

Corban Festival
Date: The 10th of the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar
Place: Chinese minority nationalities that believe in Islam
Activities: Livestock such as sheep, camel, and ox are slaughtered to present to relatives, friends, and guests.

Danu Festival
Date: The 29th of the fifth lunar month
Place: Yao ethnic group
Activities: Singing, dancing, copper drums, martial arts, ball games etc

Cheung Chau Bun Festival
Date: The 8th day of the Fourth Moon
Place: Cheung Chau Island
Activities: Parades, opera performances, Bun snatching, Vegetarian etc

Great Prayer Festival
Date: 4th-11th day of the 1st lunar month
Place: Tibet
Activities: Pray, "Sunning of the Buddha" ceremony, drama performances, dancing

Double Third Singing Carnival
Date: The 3rd of the 3rd Lunar Month
Place: Zhuang minority group
Activities: Singing Carnival

Yi Torch Festival
Date: The 24th –26th days of the 6th lunar month
Place: Yi ethnic group
Activities: Torch parade, bonfire, wrestling, horse race, bullfight etc

Tibetan Bathing Festival
Date: From the 6th to the 12th of the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar
Place: Tibet
Activities: River bathing

Third Month Street Fair
Date: From the 15th day to the 21st day of the third lunar month
Place: Bai ethnic group
Activities: Exchange of commodities, horse racing, performance of operas etc

Miao Dragon Boat Festival
Date: From the 24th to 27th of the fifth lunar month
Place: Miao ethnic group
Activities: Dragon boat race

Knife-Pole Festival
Date: The 8th of the second lunar month
Place: Lisu ethnic group
Activities: Climbing Knife Pole

Goddess Mazu Festival
Date: The 23rd day of the 3rd lunar month and the 9th day of the 9th lunar month
Place: Meizhou Island
Activities: Offering sacrifices to Mazu

Flowery Mountains Festival
Date: Between the second and seventh day of the first lunar month
Place: Miao ethnic group
Activities: Folk song singing, lusheng dancing, lion dancing and bull fighting

Huijia Festival
Date: Varies according to different areas
Place: Korean minority
Activities: Ceremonial banquet

Pan Wang Festival
Date: The 16th of the tenth lunar month
Place: Yao ethnic group
Activities: Pay tribute to Pan Wang, large-scale singing fair

Munao Festival
Date: The 15th day of the first lunar month
Place: Yuannan Province
Activities: Singing and dancing

Longduan Street Festival
Date: The third lunar month
Place: Zuangs in Guangnan and Funing areas in Yunnan Province
Activities: Dancing and singing

Harvest Ceremony
Date: The fifth day of the eighth lunar month
Place: Gaoshan people
Activities: Offering sacrifices

Filling-up-the-Storehouse Festival
Date: The 25th of the first lunar month
Place: Manchu minority
Activities: Cooking broomcorn