Major Festival & Celebrations in August in Yunnan Province

Deemed "the oriental carnival", the Torch Festival is celebrated by several ethnic minorities including the Yi, Bai, Naxi, Jinuo and Lahu etc. Enjoying a long history as an important festival of these minorities, it exhibits quite profound cultural connotations.

Although the date of the festival is slightly different among these minorities, it takes place on lunar 24/25 June. Usually a wide variety of folk activities are organised for the festival, such as bull (buffalo) fighting, goat fighting, rooster fighting, horse racing, wrestling, beauty pageant, and singing and dancing etc.

In Yunnan Province, Kunming, Chuxiong, Dali, Yuxi, Wenshan, Puer, Honghe, Lijiang and Zhaotong are the major areas for the Torch Festival as they are inhabited by the Yi or Bai people. The festival takes place in places as below:

Shilin County (90 km from Kunming downtown)
Date: 8 August

Yunnan Nationalities Village (13 km from Kunming downtown)
Date: 1-9 August
Place: Kunming

Yi People’s Ancient Town, Chuxiong City (155 km from Kunming), Chuxiong Prefecture
Date: 7-16 August

Dali Prefecture (335 km from Kunming)
Date: 9 August

E’shan County (120 km from Kunming), Yuxi City
Date: 8-10 August

Xinping County (180 km from Kunming), Yuxi City
Date: 8 August

Ning’er County (380 km from Kunming), Pu’er City
Date: 8 August

Mangkuan Town (540 km from Kunming), Baoshan City
Date: 8-10 August

Puzhehei Resort (340 km from Kunming), Qiubei County
Date: 8 August

The First Toasting Song Competition of Chuxiong
Date: 6-9 August
Place: Yi People’s Ancient Town (155 km from Kunming)
The event will be joined by singers from 16 prefectures and cities of Yunnan Province. Anyone (including expats in Yunnan) interested in Yunnan folk toasting songs can take part in the competition by calling 138 8836 1899.

The 12th Nanhua Wild Mushroom Festival
Date: 9-11 August
Place: Nanhua County (180 km from Kunming), Chuxiong Prefecture
Nicknamed the Kingdom of Wild Mushrooms in China, Nanhua is quite rich in wild mushroom resources, which is why it hosts the festival every year. In addition to the various mushroom-themed activities, there will be a series of cultural shows, promotional events, mushroom delicacies competition, mushroom photography competition and bonfire parties held during the festival.

Taliu Ethnic Pancake Festival
Date: 8 August
Place: Taliu Mt, Liude Town (430 km from Kunming), Yongsheng County, Lijiang City
Each lunar 24 June is the traditional Pancake Festival of the Taliu people who is a branch of the Yi ethnic group living in Yongsheng County. The festival will last for three days and people will make glutinous pancakes for the ancestor worshiping ceremony.

Axi Ethnic Dancing Festival
Date: middle August
Place: Mi’le City (150 km from Kunming)
Axi is a branch of the Yi ethnic group mainly living in Mi’le County. The dance Axi Tiao Yue (transliterated as Axi people dance the moon) has been a jubilant performance since the ancient times, expressing the happiness for festivals and harvests etc.

Wild Mushrooms Festival
Date: August
Place: Longpeng Town, Shiping County (250 km from Kunming), Honghe Prefecture
Longpeng Town is located in the northern part of Shiping County, and is known as the Hometown of Cigarette-Box Dance and Wild Mushrooms. The festival offers a chance not only to experience the Yi ethnic Cigarette-Box Dance, but also to taste the seasonal treat.