Minority Festivals

Minority Festivals

This region is known for its colorful, and sometimes wild, minority festivals. If at all possible, try to find one when you're in the area.

At Hidden Lake near Kunming, the Yi and Bai peoples hold their sacred Torch Festivals on June 24. They throw handfuls of pine resin into bonfires, alighting the night with clouds of magical sparks. The mid-April Dai Water Splashing Festival in the rain forests of Xishuangbanna is liquid pandemonium. Its purpose is to wash away the sorrow of the old year and refresh you for the new.

Dali has two festivals of note—the Third Moon Fair (usually April) in honor of Guanyin, the bodhisattva of mercy; and the Three Temples Festival (usually May). The Sister's Meal Festival is dedicated to unmarried women. During the great rice harvest, special brightly colored dishes are made and at nightfall, there's much ado about courtship, dancing, and old-fashioned flirting. It's so sweet that this festival, like all of Southwestern China's heralded holidays, will leave travelers yearning for more.