Come to Mangjian village for rice festival

Editor's note:

Mangjian in Gengma county is a Dai ethnic village featuring farming culture, paddy fields and photography bases. Rest on its Guhun (rice soul) Festival, the ethnic village invited in visitors for leisure, vacation and sightseeing. Rural tourism has increased income of local villagers.

Come to Mangjian village for rice festival, feast

Harvest is a joyful occasion. In the Mangjian village of Gengma County, southwest Yunnan’s Lincang City, there exists a festival dedicated to harvest —— the Guhun (rice soul) Festival. When the rice in paddy fields is turned golden by autumn breeze, seniors would call together the fellow villagers to discuss celebrations of the Guhun (rice soul) Festival. On this occasion, villagers in Mangjian would invite in their friends and relatives, while preparing tasty dishes. First and foremost, several jars of liquor are made.

The Guhun Festival usually falls in autumn, the timing varying from year to year. During the festival, folks are busy with their own tasks. The Dai youngsters are packing up rice —— the local specialty to be presented to their dear guests.

The Baijia (100-family) banquet should be climax of the festival. At 3:00 pm, folks come to the village square with seats in hands, and they would choose a favorable place. Once the rituals are finished, the grand banquet begins. Sitting at the tables, families take out their special dishes. Visitors can taste sour pork, fried beef and others from different families. Of course, the staple of rice is highlighted at the feast. The new rice is soft, chewy and full of aroma.

“The rice output in our village is not so large, but it surely tastes pleasant,” said Xiaonan, who shared the same table with me during the banquet. In the past, the rice was milled and sold in the neighboring Mangsa market at low prices. Now it is sold at a good price via unified e-commerce channel at the villagers’ cooperative.

Mangjian is home to 554 villagers in 120 families, and they mostly live on rice growing. Last year (2017) the village’s gross income reached 4,900,000 yuan, with the organic rice making up 1,300,000 yuan. The farmers’ per capita income was 8,800 yuan. Through years of effort, the Mangjian rice has become a popular goods and souvenir on the e-commerce platform. As a result, the Mangjian folks who worked outside as migrant works or vendors are returning to their paddy fields for rice growing.

Writing by Xu Wenzhou; Trans-editing by Wang Shixue