Kunming Festivals and Activities
Kunming is the capital and the largest city in Yunnan Province and located in the center of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau at an altitude of 1900 meters, owes a cultural blend of 26 ethnic minority groups as well as breathtaking natural scenery. Here we list the main festivals in Kunming. Check these festivals and pay attention to the time of favored ones.
Kunming International Cultural Tourism Festival
It’s Annually held in May Day, lasts five days in total, it is also celebrated with Kunming Carnival (lasting three days). Activities are carried out in squares, parks, pedestrian streets and scenic spots all round Kunming city. Fancy car parade, dancing and singing performances, water splashing carnival, snack banquet and local long street banquet are all excited contents of the grand Festivals. The whole city is immersed with joy at that moment.
Temple Fairs
Even some historical sites and folk culture in Kunming have almost vanished in the past years. Kunming Old Street luckily remains and the temple fair is held annually from the lunar January 5th to lunar January 15th and become a bright tourism card. It attracts millions of visitors. Old Kunming flavor come to people’s sight again. On that day, local special products and snacks can be found from the Mingfeng mountain foot to the top. In the park, there are various entertainment activities and folk performance.
Horticulture Expo
World Horti-Expo in 1999 brought great fame to Kuming, the flora spring city. The government plan to held gardening and horticulture expo every year since 2009. The first expo will last a month in May, and then it will be held in every October since 2010.
Ethnic Festivals
Ethnic minorities play an important role in Yunnan culture with nearly thirty ethnic minority groups living in Kunming. Here are many attractive traditional festivals worth taking part in like Torch Festival, Hunting God Festival and Sanyuesan.
Torch Festival is a grandest event of Yi ethnic minority, local Yi people will celebrate it on the 24th day of lunar June in Shilin Country. They gather and collected torch together into an burning tower, then sing and dance around the torch tower.
Hunting God Festival – Lieshen (Hunting God) festival of Yi ethnic group is held at Jiuxiang during the 1st to 3rd day of lunar January. Antiphonal singing, bullfight, dance and many other folk activities will be conducted.
Sanyuesan means the day of March 3rd, and It is a day for the locals to have a trip and eye feast on flowers in Spring. It was especially busy in the West Hill and Gold Temple in Kunming.
Festivals in Yunnan minorities Village
Yunnan minorities Village is a top attraction of Kunming and it’s in the city center with convenient transportation. For most of visitors, it must be a perfect choice to admire the pomp of so many ethnic minorities in one place. Here is the detailed information about some festivals in the village:
Munao Zongge Festival of Jingpo (ethnic group)
- Time: Late Feburary
- Activities: tasting Jingpo rice wine, Munao Zongge dances
Sanduo Festival of Naxi
- Time: Late Feburary
- Activities: sacrificial activities of worshiping Sanduo (reportedly the god of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain), Naxi ancient music show, folk songs
Water-Splashing Festival of Dai
- Time: mid-April
- Activities: New Year of Dai ethnic group, splashing water to each other showing best wishes and many other celebrations
Shankang Festival of Blang
- Time: 16th to 19th day of Aprl
- Activities: making sacrifice to the God of Mountain for good harvest, folk song and dance performances, eating the reunion dinner
Dengba Festival of Tibetan
- Time: 5th to 6th of May
- Activities: Tibetan Guozhuang Dance
Kuzhazha Festival of Hani
- Time: Early August
- Activities: riding a seesaw, pushing a swing, folk dances and songs
Xinmi Festival of Wa
- Time: mid-October
- Activities: beating the wooden drums, slaughtering cattle, folk performances, hosting a reunion of all Wa people
Kunming Festivals and Events introduce a brief introduction of festivals and activities and tell travelers Top Things to Do for Kunming festivals Tours and important Kunming events and activities including Exhibition, Conference, Trade Show, Expositions and Trade Fairs.
