On July 19, Yanzhai Village in Dabaozi Town, Jingzhou Miao and Dong Autonomous County, hosted the 2025 Hunan-Guizhou Ethnic Folk Song Festival with the participation of 53 teams from Hunan and Guizhou provinces.
Performers sing antiphonally on the spot and drink the door-blocking wine.
Thirty-seven teams from Guizhou and sixteen from Hunan, dressed in splendid ethnic costumes and driven by their passion for cultural heritage, gathered together. The song masters took turns on stage to showcase their vocal talents, building a bridge of communication between the two provinces through their songs.
“I’ve come to this song festival every year for over 40 years now,” said Long Jinxiang, a member of the folk song team from Damu Village, Dabaozi Town. “It’s especially joyful to exchange with so many excellent teams. This is not only a stage to showcase local culture but also a great opportunity to learn about other regional cultures.”
“I’m very happy to come to Hunan for the song festival and sing antiphonally with friends from Hunan,” expressed Xie Zhijin, team leader of Pianpo Village, Benchu Town, Tianzhu County, Guizhou, in Miao language. As a Miao person, he always feels that inheriting intangible cultural heritage is a responsibility. He hopes the festival will grow even better, offering more chances for friends from Hunan and Guizhou to communicate.
At the scene, the songs soared like fanfares or flowed like streams, bearing rich ethnic cultural codes as well as love for life and hope for the future. The audience was deeply immersed and frequently captured exciting moments on their phones, while enjoying this annual feast of ethnic culture.
“This is my first time hearing Miao and Dong folk songs live, and it’s absolutely stunning!” said Guo Xiaoqin, a tourist from Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province. “Combined with local delicacies, I’m already looking forward to coming again next time.”
The Yanzhai song festival has a long history. Since the late Ming to early Qing dynasties, on market days, song masters would spontaneously gather in Chashu’ao, Yawan Village, to socialize through singing, gradually forming this custom. Since 2007, the festival has been fixed on the 25th day of the 6th lunar month at the Yanzhai Drum Tower, making it a “cultural hallmark” of the Hunan-Guizhou border region.
“The ‘Forty-eight Villages Song Festival’ is a provincial intangible cultural heritage with profound roots,” introduced Long Lin, publicity officer of Dabaozi Town. The festival is not only a cultural event but also a practical platform for Hunan and Guizhou provinces to jointly promote rural governance, construction, and the building of beautiful villages. “We hope to showcase the united and positive spirit of the people of Hunan and Guizhou through songs, letting ethnic culture rejuvenate and thrive through exchange.”
(Translated by Yang Hong)