Maoming Festivals And Activities

Maoming (茂名) has one of the most active village festival traditions in western Guangdong. Its cultural calendar is centered on Nianli (年例), a community celebration held on different lunar dates by individual villages.

Local people often say that “Nianli is more important than the Spring Festival.” Family members working outside Maoming may miss Lunar New Year but still return home for their village’s Nianli banquet and ceremonies.

Maoming Nianli was included in Guangdong’s provincial intangible cultural heritage list in 2012. Its traditions combine local worship, Madam Xian culture, ancestral remembrance, community identity and ancient customs inherited from the historical Gaozhou region.

Most Nianli celebrations are held from the second day of the first lunar month through the second lunar month, although some villages observe later dates. Because each community follows its own traditional calendar, celebrations take place across Maoming for several consecutive weeks.

What Happens during a Maoming Nianli

A traditional Nianli normally develops through three stages.

Preparations

Before the festival, residents clean streets and ancestral halls, decorate the village with flags and lanterns, prepare ritual offerings and welcome relatives returning from other cities.

Main Celebration

The central day may include:

• Deity processions
• Dragon and lion dances
• Piaose elevated tableau parades
• Lantern and decorated-boat processions
• Nuo ritual dances
• Cantonese opera
• Western Guangdong puppet theatre
• Martial arts performances
• Fire-torch and fire-dragon traditions
• Large family and community banquets

Nianli is not simply a public performance. It is a living community tradition through which villagers pray for peace, favorable weather, prosperity and family unity.

Closing Ceremonies

At the end of the celebration, ritual figures are returned to their temples and concluding ceremonies mark the completion of the village’s annual prayers.

Visitors are welcome at many public processions, but private banquets, ancestral halls and religious ceremonies should be entered only with permission.

Best Time to Experience Maoming Nianli

The main Nianli season follows the Lunar New Year, generally from late January or February through March, depending on the lunar calendar.

The largest concentration of representative events normally occurs between the 13th and 28th days of the first lunar month. Annual Gregorian dates change, so travelers should check the current festival calendar published by local cultural and tourism authorities.

In 2025, Maoming selected ten representative folk Nianli events, including the Liushuang Lantern Nianli, Gaozhou Zhongping She Nianli, Gaozhou Sida Yuan Nianli, Yangjiao Jigongkou Nianli, Diancheng Zhuangchun Nianli and Zhenlong Piaose Nianli.

Major Nianli Festivals in Maonan District

Yangjiao Jigongkou Nianli

Usual date: 27th day of the first lunar month
Location: Yangjiao Town (羊角镇)

Jigongkou Nianli (鸡公口年例) is one of Maoming’s largest village celebrations. It links more than 60 natural villages around several village committees and has a history of more than three centuries.

The program may include deity processions, dragon and lion dances, Piaose displays, Cantonese opera, puppet theatre and traditional rituals. It was selected as one of Maoming’s representative folk Nianli celebrations.

Aotou Feima Village Nianli

Usual period: 25th–28th days of the first lunar month
Location: Feima Village, Aotou Town (鳌头镇飞马村)

Feima Village is known for martial arts culture. Its Nianli combines lion dancing, kung fu demonstrations, village processions and community celebrations.

Shiaotang Nianli

Usual period: 14th–16th days of the first lunar month
Location: Xinpo Town (新坡镇)

The Shiaotang “General Parade” Nianli (石鳌塘“走将军”年例) is distinguished by ritual masks, Nuo traditions and ceremonial village performances.

Major Nianli Festivals in Dianbai District

Diancheng Zhuangchun Nianli

Usual period: 14th–16th days of the first lunar month
Location: Diancheng Town (电城镇)

Diancheng Zhuangchun Nianli (电城妆春年例) is known for its decorative processions and temple-fair atmosphere. Costumed figures, folk tableaux and village teams move through the streets during one of Dianbai’s most recognizable seasonal events.

It was selected as one of Maoming’s ten representative folk Nianli celebrations.

Peng Village Fire Dragon Nianli

Usual period: Early second lunar month
Location: Dianbai District

Peng Village (彭村) is associated with a dramatic fire-dragon procession held during its Nianli period. The event combines night-time ritual, fire, village worship and community participation.

Major Nianli Festivals in Gaozhou

Gaozhou Sida Yuan Nianli

Usual date: Ninth day of the second lunar month
Location: Gaozhou (高州)

The Sida Yuan Nianli (四大园年例) is one of western Guangdong’s most spectacular annual gatherings.

Decorated ritual boats representing four temple communities meet near the Jianjiang River. Large crowds gather to watch the processions, while night-time torch ceremonies create a dramatic festival scene.

Zhongping She Nianli

Usual date: 21st day of the first lunar month
Location: Shatian Town (沙田镇)

Zhongping She Nianli (忠平社年例) is famous for an enormous decorated ritual boat sometimes described as one of the largest Nianli boats in western Guangdong.

The festival may also include lion dancing, martial arts, torchlight processions and fireworks.

Wangli Village Nianli

Usual period: 12th–14th days of the first lunar month
Location: Changpo Town (长坡镇)

Wangli Village Nianli (旺利村年例) features torch processions and a distinctive local custom known as Zuoyusa (作鱼撒), associated with throwing or scattering symbolic offerings.

Changpo Ancient Town Nianli

Usual date: Around the 15th day of the first lunar month
Location: Changpo Town

The Changpo Ancient Town celebration is strongly connected with beliefs surrounding Madam Xian (冼夫人). Processions reenact the ceremonial journey of Madam Xian and preserve traditions associated with the ancient Gaozhou region.

Fenjie Market Nianli

Usual date: 19th day of the first lunar month
Location: Fenjie Town (分界镇)

This celebration is known for dragon processions, Piaose tableaux and village performances.

Dong’an Village Lantern Festival

Usual date: 22nd day of the first lunar month
Location: Shiban Town (石板镇)

The event centers on lantern displays and village processions, creating one of Gaozhou’s most photogenic evening celebrations.

Major Nianli Festivals in Xinyi

Liushuang Lantern Nianli

Usual date: Evening of the 17th day of the first lunar month
Location: Liushuang Village, Zhenlong Town (镇隆镇六双村)

The Liushuang Lantern Nianli (六双花灯年例) has been passed down for more than three centuries. Villagers carry handmade lanterns constructed from bamboo and paper through a procession extending for several kilometres.

The celebration combines lanterns, traditional torches, western Guangdong puppet theatre, southern lion dancing, dragon dancing and Cantonese opera.

Zhenlong Piaose Nianli

Usual period: Early second lunar month
Location: Zhenlong Town (镇隆镇)

Zhenlong is known for Piaose, a parade form in which elaborately dressed children appear to float above decorated platforms.

Large lion figures, dragon dances, music and village processions create a vivid display of Gaozhou regional culture.

Bafang Village Nianli

Usual date: 22nd day of the first lunar month
Location: Bafang Village, Zhenlong Town

The Bafang celebration includes Piaose, lion and dragon dancing and traditional community rituals.

Major Nianli Festivals in Huazhou

Guantang Village Nianli

Usual date: 18th day of the first lunar month
Location: Guantang Village, Daqiao Town (笪桥镇莞塘村)

The Guantang Village Nianli is best known for dragon dancing and community performances. It was included among Maoming’s representative folk Nianli events.

Wangdong Village Nianli

Usual date: 17th day of the first lunar month
Location: Hejiang Town (合江镇)

The festival includes temple activities, deity processions and a traditional village fair.

Changling Village Nianli

Usual period: 15th–17th days of the first lunar month
Location: Yangmei Town (杨梅镇)

Changling Village is known for its night-time Youtang (游塘) ritual. Ceremonial palanquins move rapidly around the village amid drums, fireworks and cheering crowds.

Maoming Lychee Carnival

Maoming’s second major festival season begins when lychees ripen from May through July.

The city’s lychee events combine orchard visits, fruit tasting, agricultural markets, cultural performances, online sales campaigns and countryside tourism.

The 2026 lychee and longan marketing season formally opened in Maoming on April 27–28 under the theme “A New Start with Lychees, Sharing Opportunities in the 15th Five-Year Plan.” Producers and buyers from Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Hainan participated in supply-and-demand meetings, resulting in purchase intentions covering more than 80,000 tonnes.

Seasonal activities may include:

• Visits to ancient lychee orchards
• Fresh-fruit tasting
• Orchard picking
• Puppet and folk performances
• Agricultural product markets
• Cultural and creative displays
• Live-streaming and e-commerce events
• Lychee countryside tours

Baiqiao Village (柏桥村), Gaozhou’s Genzi Town (根子镇) and ancient lychee-growing areas around Maonan are major destinations during harvest season.

Cultural and Natural Heritage Day

From June 12 to 14, 2026, Maoming hosted the Guangdong main venue for Cultural and Natural Heritage Day at the Baomao Expressway Baiqiao Service Area and Maoming Lychee Expo Park.

More than 150 intangible cultural heritage projects from Guangdong’s 21 prefecture-level cities were presented through craft demonstrations, traditional food, cultural products and performances.

The program included an intangible heritage parade, dragon and lion dances, a Madam Xian performance group, heritage markets, interactive workshops and a digital water-screen show. The Guangdong Intangible Cultural Heritage Digital Map was also launched during the event.

This was a special provincial event held in Maoming in 2026 rather than a guaranteed annual festival at the same location.

Maoming Festival Calendar