Insane Lantern Festival in rural China, Guangdong 🏮I S2, EP67
Good afternoon everyone Welcome back Today is the 14th of the 1st lunar month And tomorrow it will be the lantern festival So today I am in Guangdong province In Puning And in this area In chaoshan area in general The lantern festival Is even more celebrated It’s even more important
Than the Chinese New Year There are different forms of celebration And I am here for a night event tomorrow Called he-deng Or ye-jin-deng And this means tomorrow People will go out on a parade together And each family will hold a small lantern So today I still have half day
So I decided to walk around Get some food And just to get familiar with the neighborhood I stayed in Zhanlong town an very ordinary town In the pre-urban area of Puning The big celebration that I want to see is in a nearby village called Shiqiaotou and this afternoon
I am going to Xilong where lantern making is a traditional skill known by many families And before all that I am going to the market nearby to get some local food So this is my breakfast They have steamer drawers Which is often used to make Steamed rice roll
But they all steam the noodles It’s my first time having this cantonese cuisine are relatively light There is almost no spices Because they prefer the original flavor Of the food There is Sha-cha-jiang Satay paste This is made of peanut Sesame, fish sauce, garlic, etc. The market has some typical local dishes
Such as braised duck and goose And teochow-guo A sticky rice cake that comes in various colors, shapes and fillings but overall, Teochow food isn’t spicy It is much less heavy handed than other Chinese cuisines Besides the wheat noodle Rice noodle is also extremely popular Locally it’s called goo-tiao
You can have e.g. Chao-guo-tiao Fried rice noodle Or soup rice noodle This one looks quite interesting It looks like tofu But I think it’s meaty Manager, may I ask What is that? Pork loaf I see, pork Yes, pork loaf And those? They are all pork This too Are they all made of pork?
Yes Beef ones are there I see, already packed This is made with fat choy i see fat choy meat balls this is octopus meat balls with 8 feets. I see, octopus That big lobsters in chaoshan area Fish and beef balls are very famous It’s all for soup or hot pork
And all meatballs are made of Pure meat There is no starch in it So you can see the meat pieces Wow, many people are playing Mahjong lantern is a household decoration A must for the Lantern festival and an old tradition in Chaoshan region for over 600 years Xilong village has been making lanterns
It is a household skill traditional lanterns are weaved with thin bamboo splints And then affix with paper The next step is writing characters Such as the family name And some good words In Teochow langauge Lantern is ‘ding’ And ding means a boy And that’s why, whenever
The family has a new boy They’ll order one of those lanterns And after writing He’ll has to brush it with oil To make it looks pretty How much per piece? 100. I see Is it only bought during the new year? Yes, 15th of the 1st lunar month
So only for lantern festival So if a new house is bought A lantern is also needed. Yes thousands of descendants it means prospering Long life and wealth thousands of descendants And final step is to brush the paper with oil So they got their lantern For the lantern festival It’s quite a clever design If you open the sticks The lantern can stand on the ground tonight the celebration will take place In one of the largest villages around here It’s called Shiqiaotou So formal celebration Will start at night When it’s getting dark
So now everyone is getting prepared That the firecrackers You have no idea How loud it will be tonight Those are the incense for tonight It’s so big and so impressive The lantern festival in Shiqiaotou Is celebrated through deity parade A traditional religious event to worship the local deities
It starts by inviting the deities from their temples to the ancestral hall which is where I am now Once they are in place people will come to worship pray and burn incense Then the deities will be carried on a parade through the village to patrol over his land and people
So this village has altogether 45,000 population It’s a huge ‘village’ But it’s not the biggest The bigger is da-chang-long Which is not far from here It has more than 50k population The drum hitting will start It’s going to be very competitive Everyone is trying to hit the drum To get the best luck of the next year And before that Everyone is trying to go forward I am too short for this occasion Why are they shouting? What? (Because of) happiness! omg Is it always so crowded every year? Tonight, there will be over Several tens of thousands of people omg Now I can barely move Several tens of thousands of people 10,000 is too less You shall stay here And film the poe divination later
So it’s here?! Yes (But don’t worry, they’re not fighting) They said there will be An very important session Called poe divination Which means they’re going to Throw 2 dices (wooden blocks) In order to get consent From the deity And it will be here And that’s why I am not leaving right now
Because I know it’s going to be Very hard to come back Qiu-bei is poe divination it is method to To interpret the deity’s answer to start the parade The elderlies of the village will throw 2 crescent-shaped wooden blocks for 3 times and read the position of the blocks
Similar to flip the coin the block can face down or up How many attempts can they make? Unlimited But we are waiting for a certain combination A combination？ Two times shengbei (one up, one down) One Wen-be (both flat side facing down) I see, two times shengbei One time wenbei
As everyone wanted to film this critical moment the back kept pushing forward but the elderlies were demanding for more space the front kept pushing back Yes, move back While I was struggling to To get a good camera position A man told me to move back because according to tradition
Women are now allowed to be in the front row so I went back and waited But what If the desired position doesn’t come? they will plea and throw again so it’s just a matter of time before the deities say yes It has been half an hour now Apparently, it’s difficult this year So another round outside the Ancestral hall Th crowds are standing along the street
Waiting for the deity to come every Family has a lantern with a family name Yang on it The parade follows almost the same route every year before the parade came firecrackers were set to clear the street Chaoshan deity Parade has different forms but the one in Shiqiaotou Is particularly intense
It is full of heat, fire and stoppable enthusiasm They carried the deities and ran they wobbled the palanquins so that they can please them In folk religion, the deities are considered as playful as human and a parade is more more than A serious religious event It’s also a festival that
Bounds the whole community and a lively togetherness that all enjoy Honestly, I think This is the toughest deity parade I’ve ever been to There is so much firecrackers That i feel as if I am on a battle field around 10 pm fire pits were prepared in small alleys
The next program is to jump through bonfire To jump over the fire Everyone is gathering around In this small alley Look We are so close to the fire I feel it is burning (They are young boys!) (It means to drive away the evil) (And pray for good fortune!) I also feel that This event is strongly male-dominant So the whole parade team Consists of men The elderlies, young men, young boys There was no single woman In the parade team And as a female
I was not even allowed Even to stay in the front row So when the elderlies were Throwing the poe object when they are zhi-sheng-bei so unfortunately in old china Men were always preferred over women Because they’re considered as the ones The ones who carry The names and the blood of the family
Even the lanterns here Every lantern symbolize a man Who carries the blood of the family So when a family has a new-born boy They will add a new lantern But maybe things are changing now Some people also told me The family will prepare a new lantern Even for a baby girl So anyway
I don’t think the young generation Of my age Have any preference over boys or girls For us it’s the same But a tradition remains a tradition When it comes to ceremonies like this Now the celebration is still going on I think it’s going to be A sleepless night for the whole village
Later they will also Zhuang-lao-ye They will spin the palanquin But I won’t follow for more (too sleepy) It’s already quite good for today So I hope you enjoy today’s video And I wish you a happy lantern festival
I am in Puning, Guangdong. This village is known for its staggering Lantern Festival, which is held just after the New Year’s Celebration. It is more of a deity parade, where the village worships the deities according to different traditions.
It is one of the most stunning events I have ever been. There were thousands of lanterns, fireworks, people within the parades.
Join me on this intriguing deity parade in Guangdong Province 🎬
0:00 Intro
1:28 Guangdong Food
4:42 Festival Preparation
7:15 Deity Worshipping
12:23 Deity Parade
17:17 Fire Pits Jump
#chinesenewyear #china #chinese #chinesetradition #guangdong #chinavlogger #southernchina
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34 Comments
Rule number one when touring the world: always observe your surroundings carefully. Watch what you are allowed to do and what you are not allowed to do. And this applies not only to women, but to men. What's more, when a woman finds herself where she is not allowed, she becomes an object of ridicule; when a man finds himself where only women are allowed, he can end up with his throat slit. Not all places and not everything is for everyone, which many people today have trouble to understand. Respect the culture you are in, and those around you will also respect you.
As always very interesting! Thank you and greetings from Austria 🏮🐶🙋♀️
All the lanterns, fireworks, firecrackers, and crowds… that seems like peak China. 😆 (Though there’s more normal fire than I expected.)
We are being pushed right into the center in Little Chinese Everywhere videos. A unique view to a wonderful life. Thank you!
so sad to see all these people are going to suffer judgement in their sins because the salvation of Jesus the Christ has never been revealed to them
To be honest, it made me feel: crazy and a little uncomfortable. And there are many safety hazards. Seeing that the environment of the village here is very messy, instead of wasting a lot of financial and material resources on holding so-called traditional sacrificial activities (which are actually feudal superstitions), it would be better to improve the village's hardware facilities and the construction of residential buildings.
thanks
Amazing. Thank you for sharing an experience that many other people and I may never have experienced. It is so interesting.
Wow, that was crazy! I can only imagine the noise. Thanks Yan for the explanation, so facinating hearing about all the different traditions. ❤
Very cool, as always, Yan. Too bad those guys didn't stick up for a woman being in the front row! You were there to start so you should have won the right to be there.
But good for you being patient and filming all the chaos.
Fasching?
Koelle Helau 17:41
这不是重男轻女，传统就是传统，人们尊重自己的祖先并遵循上一代人的惯例做事。尊重当地人和当地风俗习惯是外来者的必修课。没有人有权随意评判、践踏一项文化传统，因为当地民众才是节日的主体，要改变也是由当地人改变。外来游客不应该自大到认为到哪里都会受到热烈欢迎。
Wow this so intense. I'm sure the rush of adrenaline is fun for the participants but many didn't look like they were having fun. Just seemed very chaotic. But thank you for sharing what an experience.
No women in the front row? pah
Feliz noche de los Faroles Yan JieJie 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
For people who don't know what's going on, this looks quite scary, looks like a riot.
Hi Yang, nice to see these traditional practises are being continued in some places in rural China. When I was little I used to be afraid to see the deities…..thank you for covering this.
Lantern Festival is my favorite day of Spring Festival and the best time for children, who have fun making lanterns, staying out late to display them, and enjoying the bustle of the celebration. Thanks for sharing this time many in your audience may not be familiar with. and greetings from Anhui, Xuancheng, Jingg'de.
Ooks quite violent but exciting at the same time with beautiful lantern 🏮. Great video thanks for sharing
this is very interesting, it looks like only a holiday for men though. Where are all the women at? Are they not allowed to participate?
I just got my answer, sorry I commented before the video was over. And it’s funny that how wrong we were in the past about bloodlines. European histories is the same, kings use the blame their queens for not giving birth the male sons. But it comes to find out that males are the ones that determine the sex. And it’s funny without women there would be no children
Thanks!
Thanks!
Amazing. Good video.
Yan ! you are absolutely amazing !! Simply Superb! I keep waiting for your videos indeed.
18:46 it looks like a rite of celebration of NOWRUZ (Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, etc. etc. …) which is the start of the new year in certain countries of Minor and (perhaps) Central Asia .
Greetings from Algeria and thank you for letting us see unseen China.
Wow… this was like a world journalistic report from an eyewitness reporter. Great coverage and footage. Very interesting about the absence of women in the ceremonies. But YOU were there to share the experience with us! Your videos are always educational, inspirational and fun! : )
Wow. Great. Thank you.
Oh my gosh you really worked hard for this video! I couldn't help thinking throughout about the ladies at home tapping their toes impatiently with arms crossed, standing in the doorway, waiting for their boys, haha. Thank you. I am always fascinated by what you produce and a little bit jealous of your adventures!
That was so intense! So much testosterone! I'm happy to see it through your lens for this once! Thank you so much!
I had always wondered how those lamps were made, and I hope to try satay sauce some day! I had only seen those lanterns and the firecrackers in games, I would never have guessed their size in real life.
A wonderful tradition festival and unfortunately all Asian cultures are very much same as a boy is more valuable than a girl but nowaday gradually society will be changing as same as equal right or valuable men and women. ❤❤❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
We have a similar celebration. Do come visit me in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. We celebrate ‘Chingay’ on 21st day of Lunar New Year. We may not have the vast amount of lanterns, firecrackers & fire jump. But we have a long street parade from the deities (Teochew, Hakka, Hokkien etc) huge flags, drums, huge paper dolls, flower trucks etc. I’m sure you find it exciting too. 😊
As a Chinese from northern part of China, I nevet saw anything like this before! This is really Unseen China!
What a great ceremony.