Xingyi Festivals And Activities

Xingyi City (兴义市) lies at the meeting point of Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi and serves as the capital of Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (黔西南布依族苗族自治州). Its annual festival calendar combines Bouyei singing traditions, Yi fire worship, agricultural ceremonies, village markets, outdoor sports and modern cultural events.

The most important cultural event is the nationally listed Bouyei Chabai Song Festival (布依族查白歌节). Other major celebrations include Bouyei March Third, June Sixth, the Louna “Opening the Rice-Planting Gate” Festival and the Lubuge Yi Torch Festival. In recent years, traditional celebrations have increasingly incorporated Guizhou Village Dance, countryside running, agricultural competitions, food fairs and interactive performances, allowing visitors to participate rather than simply watch.

Modern Xingyi also uses its karst scenery and mild climate to stage the Wanfenglin Marathon, early-spring rapeseed-flower activities, mountain concerts, cycling races and international mountain-tourism events. Dates for these modern events are announced annually and should not be treated as permanently fixed.

Festival Culture in Xingyi

Bouyei Culture Forms the Main Festival Tradition

Bouyei villages are distributed around Wanfenglin, Zerong, Jingnan, Fengdu, Dingxiao and surrounding rural areas. Their festivals follow the agricultural calendar and frequently involve singing, rice cultivation, ancestor remembrance and prayers for a successful harvest.

Music is central to these celebrations. Common forms include Bouyei antiphonal singing, Eight-Tone Sitting Singing, welcome songs, drinking songs, long-horn music and village dance. Traditional clothing, five-coloured glutinous rice, grey rice dumplings and communal meals are also important elements.

Agricultural Festivals Remain Closely Connected with Village Life

The Opening the Rice-Planting Gate (开秧门) marks the beginning of the intensive rice-planting period. June Sixth (六月六) follows after the planting season and is associated with crop protection, village worship and prayers for favourable weather.

Modern public editions add rice-planting competitions, fish catching, duck catching, countryside races and evening bonfires, but the agricultural and spiritual meaning remains important. Some rituals are conducted privately by village elders and should not be treated as staged entertainment.

“Village Dance” Gives Traditional Festivals a New Format

Guizhou Village Dance (贵州村舞) is now regularly incorporated into Xingyi’s rural celebrations. Village teams adapt traditional steps, work movements, courtship songs and local costume into accessible public performances.

In 2026, both Louna’s agricultural festival and the Chabai Song Festival used Village Dance to connect folk traditions with tourism, markets and community participation. Louna’s May activities attracted more than 60,000 visits and combined village dancing with agricultural competitions, a rural market and an eight-kilometre countryside run.

Main Ethnic Festivals in Xingyi

Bouyei Chabai Song Festival

The Bouyei Chabai Song Festival is Xingyi’s most important cultural celebration. It is held around the 21st day of the sixth lunar month in Chabai Village, Dingxiao Subdistrict (顶效街道查白村) and commemorates the legendary lovers Chalang and Baimei, remembered for their courage and faithful love.

The festival was included in China’s first national intangible-cultural-heritage list in 2006. Traditional activities include mountain singing, visiting relatives, communal dining and the Chabai Market, which attracts traders and visitors from the border regions of Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi.

The 2026 festival took place from August 1 to 3, with August 3 corresponding to the sixth lunar month’s 21st day. Its program included:

• Village-opening and blessing ceremonies
• Welcome wine and welcoming songs
• Folk and costume processions
• Bouyei marriage-custom experiences
• Bamboo-pole, bench-dragon and drum dances
• A live performance based on the Chalang and Baimei story
• Antiphonal singing by folk groups from Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi
• Food, handicraft and agricultural-product markets

The 2026 edition was also designated a provincial autumn demonstration activity for Guizhou’s Four Seasons Village Songs program.

Bouyei March Third Festival

Bouyei March Third (布依族三月三) is celebrated on the third day of the third lunar month. In Xingyi, one of the strongest celebrations is organized by the Anping Nine Villages (安平九寨), comprising Bouyei communities in Zerong Town and Wanfenglin Subdistrict.

The host village rotates among the nine communities. The 2026 celebration was held on April 19 in Pingzhai Village and featured Bouyei lion dancing, Eight-Tone Sitting Singing, welcome songs, costume displays and more than 40 village performances.

This festival is smaller and more community-oriented than Chabai. It is particularly suitable for travelers interested in local music, village hospitality and cultural exchange without the immense crowds of a major regional festival.

Louna Opening the Rice-Planting Gate Festival

The Louna Opening the Rice-Planting Gate Festival (楼纳开秧门) is held in Louna Village, Dingxiao Subdistrict (顶效街道楼纳村), usually during the rice-transplanting period in May.

The traditional ceremony announces the beginning of rice planting and asks for favourable weather and a successful harvest. Modern editions have developed into a rural carnival featuring:

• Rice-transplanting competitions
• Fish, duck and pig-catching activities
• Village Dance performances
• Folk welcome ceremonies
• Agricultural-product markets
• Bonfire gatherings
• Countryside health runs

The 2026 series began on May 22 and continued with a themed run on May 23. The festival is one of Xingyi’s best opportunities for visitors to participate directly in agricultural culture, although suitable footwear and a change of clothes are essential.

Bouyei June Sixth Festival

June Sixth (布依族六月六) is one of the most important Bouyei agricultural festivals. Depending on local planting conditions and village customs, some communities celebrate on the sixth, 16th or 26th day of the sixth lunar month.

Traditional observances may include worship of ancestors, the village guardian and the spirits associated with rice cultivation. Families prepare ceremonial food and pray for protection from pests, drought and flooding. Singing, dancing and communal meals follow the ritual activities.

Public celebrations are held in several Xingyi communities, including:

• Biliang Village, Jingnan Town (敬南镇必亮村)
• Feilongdong Village and Muduo Ancient Village (飞龙洞村母朵古寨)
• Villages around Fengdu, Wanfenglin and Dingxiao
• Multiethnic relocation communities such as Liping Community (栗坪社区)

The 2026 Biliang Village celebration was combined with an eight-kilometre rural hiking event through rice fields and village landscapes. Feilongdong has also staged singing, costume and village-dance programs for the festival.

Lubuge Yi Torch Festival

The Yi Torch Festival (彝族火把节) is traditionally celebrated on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month in Yi communities around Lubuge Town (鲁布格镇), particularly Lubi Village and nearby settlements.

Traditional activities include a fire ceremony, Yi singing and dancing, costume displays, competitive games and a large bonfire around which residents and visitors perform the left-foot dance. Lubuge’s public festival has historically drawn participants from neighbouring areas of Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi.

The scale and public program may change from year to year. Travelers should confirm whether an official large-scale celebration will be held before making a special journey to Lubuge.

Spring and Modern Tourism Events

Wanfenglin Early-Spring and Rapeseed-Flower Activities

The rapeseed fields around Wanfenglin (万峰林) usually begin flowering earlier than those in many other parts of China. The main viewing period commonly falls between February and March, although temperature and rainfall influence the exact timing.

Spring programs have included flower-field walks, folk performances, rural food activities, village parades and large outdoor gatherings. In February 2026, the rapeseed fields were already in bloom and attracted large numbers of spring visitors.

Spring Festival programs in Wanfenglin and other Xingyi resorts also feature Village Dance, intangible-heritage food, lantern installations, rice-cake making, costume shows and flower-field activities. During the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, major scenic areas across Xingyi collectively received more than 1.58 million visitor trips.

Wanfenglin Marathon

The Wanfenglin Marathon (万峰林马拉松) combines sports tourism with Xingyi’s early-spring scenery. The 2026 race was held on March 15 as the opening round of the Colorful Guizhou Marathon Super League, with cultural teams performing along the route through the karst landscape.

Race dates, registration rules and route arrangements change annually. Travelers should book accommodation early and expect traffic controls around Wanfenglin, the city sports centre and connecting roads.

International Mountain Tourism and Outdoor Sports Conference

Xingyi is a regular host of the International Mountain Tourism and Outdoor Sports Conference (国际山地旅游暨户外运动大会). It is an international professional event rather than a fixed annual folk festival.

The 2024 edition included 17 activities covering conferences, destination promotion, outdoor sports, historic-district experiences and a large Wanfenglin hiking event. Future editions should be included in travel plans only after official dates and venues are announced.

National Day and Mid-Autumn Events

During the early-October holiday period, Wanfenglin, Wanfeng Lake and central Xingyi commonly organize markets, concerts, outdoor activities and folk performances.

In 2025, the Fengchao Market (峰潮集) opened at Wanfenglin with food, cultural products, performances and mountain-themed recreational activities. Wanfeng Lake added folk shows, hiking and visitor-participation programs. These are tourism programs rather than permanent traditional festivals, and their content changes annually.

Festival Tours with Yaso Trip

Spring Flowers and Bouyei Culture Tour

Xingyi – Wanfenglin – Anping Nine Villages – Maling River Canyon

Allow four to five days between February and April. The program can combine rapeseed fields, the Wanfenglin Marathon or Bouyei March Third with Eight-Tone Sitting Singing, village food and a cultural workshop.

Agricultural Culture and Village Dance Tour

Xingyi – Louna Village – Wanfenglin – Jingnan

Allow three to four days in May or around June Sixth. Join rice planting, rural games and Village Dance in Louna, followed by a slower village stay and agricultural food experience.

Chabai and Summer Ethnic Festival Tour

Xingyi – Chabai Village – Wanfenglin – Jingnan – Lubuge

Allow five to six days around the sixth lunar month. The strongest program combines the Chabai Song Festival with June Sixth or the Torch Festival only when their officially confirmed dates overlap.

Mountain Sports and Autumn Events Tour

Xingyi – Wanfenglin – Maling River Canyon – Wanfeng Lake

Allow four to five days around a confirmed marathon, cycling event, mountain-tourism conference or National Day program. This format combines festival activity with hiking, lake experiences and karst-landscape exploration.

Xingyi Annual Festival and Event Calendar

The following table covers Xingyi’s main recurring ethnic festivals, agricultural celebrations, tourism programs and major public events. Smaller communities hold additional ceremonies and performances, so it should be treated as a practical visitor calendar rather than an exhaustive record of every village observance.

Practical Festival Travel Advice

Confirm lunar dates every year. Chabai, March Third, June Sixth and the Torch Festival move on the Gregorian calendar. Public programs are commonly announced only several weeks before the event.

Use Xingyi as the main accommodation base. The city centre and Wanfenglin offer the broadest hotel selection. Rural homestays provide a stronger village atmosphere but may have limited parking, sound insulation and late-night transport.

Arrange private transport for village festivals. Chabai, Louna, Biliang and Lubuge are outside the central commercial district. Festival days may bring road closures, temporary parking areas and long walks from vehicle drop-off points.

Expect crowds during Chabai. Attend the opening ceremonies early, remain through the singing and market periods, and avoid attempting to drive away immediately after the main evening program.

Join activities respectfully. Welcome wine, village dancing and agricultural games may be open to visitors, while ancestor worship and private village rituals may not be. Ask before entering ritual areas or photographing elders and ceremonies.

Prepare for summer rain and strong sun. Use a lightweight raincoat, sun protection and non-slip shoes. For Louna’s rice-field activities, bring washable clothing, sandals or rain boots and a complete change of clothes.

A Xingyi Festival Tour with Yaso Trip is most rewarding when it combines one major celebration with Wanfenglin scenery, village food, traditional music and an interactive cultural activity. The goal is not simply to photograph a parade, but to understand how singing, farming, courtship, fire, food and village cooperation continue to shape festival life in southwestern Guizhou.