2023 LeiShan GuZang Festival Parade, GuiZhou, China

2023 LeiShan GuZang Festival Parade, GuiZhou, China

LeiShan GuZang Festival Parade
QianDongNan, GuiZhou, China
2023 November
4K UHD

Thank you for your support and Happy New Year! In 2025, I will continue to update my travel log and show you the scenes, culture and food of different places. By chao 🙂

The Guzang Festival, held every thirteen years, is one of the most important festivals of the Miao people. This festival is not only a national intangible cultural heritage, but also the largest, most solemn and longest festival of the Miao people. Because the starting and ending years of the Guzang Festival in Miao villages distributed in different regions and branches are different, each Guzang Festival will last for three years, each spanning more than one month. It includes the links of welcoming guests, worshiping ancestors, dancing drums, and sending drums. During this period, folk activities such as twelve gate-blocking wine, dancing reed pipes, and young men and women asking for flower belts will be carried out.

Leishan County is located in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province. It is a multi-ethnic county with the Miao people as the main body. The Leishan Miao people mainly have branches such as long skirt Miao, medium skirt Miao, and short skirt Miao. The clothing and headdresses of different branches are also very different. The patterns and decorations on the clothes often have specific cultural and historical significance.

The Guzang Festival in Leishan County in 2023 was held from November 11 to December 25, including a parade of 10,000 people showing intangible cultural heritage, a 10,000-person Lusheng meeting, 10,000 aunts returning to their parents’ homes, 10,000 families welcoming 10,000 guests, and a 10,000-person bullfighting competition. Among them, the 10,000-person intangible cultural heritage parade is one of the most spectacular activities of the festival. According to official statistics, the parade team is composed of Miao compatriots from various towns and villages in Leishan County and ethnic compatriots from all over the country, with a total of more than 40 formations and nearly 10,000 people participating. The parade team set out from the playground of Leishan No. 1 Middle School and paraded along the street to the venue of the ethnic song and dance performance, attracting many people and tourists to stop and watch. The parade formations include the Yangasha formation, the holiday gift formation, the brother ethnic formation, the Internet celebrity formation, and the formations of various villages and schools. Each formation is composed of Lusheng playing and ethnic costumes display.

Lusheng is a reed instrument of many ethnic minorities in southwest China, including the Miao, Yao, and Dong. Different regions and ethnic branches have different types of Lusheng. Many Lushengs of different heights, angles, and shapes were displayed and played during the tour.

Miao silver jewelry is the most prominent part of Miao decoration, famous for its exquisite craftsmanship and unique cultural symbols. Silver jewelry is not only a decoration, but also contains the meaning of warding off evil and welcoming good fortune, and is also a symbol of wealth for the Miao people. Especially during the New Year or weddings, the Miao village becomes a world of silver. Miao embroidery is an indispensable decorative element in Miao costumes. The patterns are mostly based on natural objects such as flowers, birds, fish, insects, and dragons, symbolizing respect and worship for ancestors, as well as understanding of nature, the universe, and the origin of life. Miao embroidery is good at using strong contrasting colors, pursuing rich, heavy, and gorgeous colors.

GuiZhou, China – Chao’s Travel Log / 中国贵州 – 超思旅行日志
Chao’ Studio 超思工作室 / Contact: chao@chaostu.cc