Hualian Festival of Yi ethnic group kicks off in Wenshan

Tourists joined local Yi ethnic folks in celebrating the Hualian Festival that opened in Qiubei County in southeast Yunnan’s Wenshan Prefecture on July 18.

The Hualian Festival is a local traditional festival where people express best wishes by daubing black rice ash on face to get good luck.

Drawing in tens of thousands tourists in recent years, the Yi Hualian Festival dates back to more than 1,000 years ago, when the Yi ancestors began daubing black ash on their face to dispel the evils. 

This year, the festivities will last for one month. 

Reporting by Li Zha, trans-editing by Wang Shixue