China News Service, Qingyuan, September 24 (Zhang Lu, Liu Shili) Lianshan Zhuang and Yao Autonomous County, Qingyuan City, Guangdong Province celebrated the 2026 "Chinese Farmers Harvest Festival" on the 23rd at the Shiping Zhuang Yao Cultural Tribe in Yonghe Town. Guests from all over the world gathered together with local Zhuang and Yao people to watch songs and dances, visit markets, compete in agricultural activities, and taste delicious food.
At the event site, Zhuang Yao people dressed in national costumes sang a road-blocking song. The Harvest Art Show kicked off in the fields. The hollow stage is surrounded by terraced fields, with a panoramic view of distant mountains and rice waves. Situational performances "The Joy of Harvest" and "Field Songs" were staged in turn, Lianshan local singer Yin Xiaoyun sang the original song "Shaking Mountains", the intangible cultural heritage fashion show "Naxiu·Xiangyunsha·Zhuang Yao Fu" was staged, and the dance "Autumn Colors on the Ridge" and the song and dance "Chinese Year of Harvest" were staged one after another.
Event site. Photo courtesy of Zhao Lixia
The Harvest Market exhibition area is crowded and lively. Local specialty delicacies such as slippery beans are fragrant, and people stop in front of the stall to try them from time to time. The dazzling array of cultural and creative products such as Xiangyunsha attracts the attention of tourists.
In the rice fields, cheers and laughter echoed one after another. As soon as the fishing competition started, the contestants rolled up their trousers, stepped barefoot, and bent down to explore carefully in the water. In the winter melon moving competition, the contestants picked up the big winter melon, trotted all the way on the track, rushed to the finish line and then turned back.
Event site. Photo courtesy of Tang Ming
In the farmhouse cooking area, the "Cantonese Cuisine Chef·Lianshan Specialty Dishes" skill production display area is full of aroma. The chef cooked Lianshan special dishes on site, and tourists were full of praise when they tasted the freshly baked rice-flavored delicacies.
The Xiangyun Sha ancient potato mud dyeing and finishing technique exhibition area is very popular. At the fashion show, "Naxiu·Xiangyunsha·Zhuang Yao Fu" created by Huang Gang, a teacher from the School of Fashion Technology of Huizhou University, was unveiled, and models showed off clothing dyed with ancient potato mud. In the exhibition booth, representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage explained and demonstrated the clothing production process. Visitors can learn about the process up close and choose Xiangyunsha cultural and creative products.
On that day, the dragon dance, a representative project of Yonghe Town’s intangible cultural heritage, was performed wonderfully. The golden dragon churns between the rice fields, which means "to ward off evil spirits and avoid disasters, have good weather, and have a good harvest", adding a strong auspiciousness to the harvest festival. Tourists enjoy the fragrance of rice and appreciate the intangible cultural heritage while watching the golden dragon dance.
In the farming culture experience area, the exhibition of old farm tools and field farming experience attracted many tourists. Aunt Yu, who participated in the event, said: "These old objects were commonly used at home when I was a child, and they look so familiar now."
According to reports, in recent years, Lianshan Zhuang and Yao Autonomous County has relied on the profound cultural heritage of the Zhuang and Yao ethnic groups to cultivate local resources, strengthen characteristic agriculture, activate and inherit intangible cultural heritage folk customs, make every effort to build harmonious and beautiful villages, and write the answer to the rural revitalization of Lianshan. (over)
