Celebrate Huajie Festival with Huayao Dai people

As a branch of the Dai ethnic group, the Huayao Dai people annually celebrate the Huajie Festival, known as the "Oriental Valentine's Day". It is an occasion for youngsters to find their life-long partners. 

The Huayao Dai people is a branch of the Dai ethnic group and it gets its name for the colorful costume decorations on women’s waist. They mainly live in south Yunnan’s Xinping, Yuanjiang and Yuanyang Counties. The Huajie Festival is important to young Huayao Dai people as it is the time for them to look for life partners. For this reason, the festival is also regarded as the “Oriental Valentine's Day”. 

During the festival, young girls will be dressed up in their most beautiful festive costumes and exchange the love tokens with their favored young men after singing, dancing and parties. 

Today, the Huajie Festival attracts a large number of tourists home and abroad. In Gasa Town of Xinping, this year’s Huajie festival will begin on Feb. 18 and last till Feb. 20. It will be a good occasion for tourists to visit Gasa where Huayao Dai costumes show, gourmet events and antiphonal singing and a photo contest will be held.  

Editor: Wang Shixue