Chinese Festivals

That Leave You Best Food, Much Excitement and In-depth Experience of Local Culture

China has exceptionally rich and varied cultural heritages that are showcased in a wide spectrum of festivals. Most of the traditional Chinese festivals that has been celebrates for over 1000 years unveils the history and fantasy of this mysterious Oriental country.

Whether you call China home or are just traveling around, going to Chinese festivals is a definitely one of the best ways to immerse yourself in Chinese culture. Surprisingly, there are hundreds of spectacular traditional Chinese festivals that celebrate in different areas of the country throughout a year. These festivals are epic events and celebrate everything from religion, gods, music, dance, food, kites and fire, to happiness, love and harvest.

Ancient China Festivals

Here are the greatest and most celebrated traditional festivals in China, including the top four ancient China festivals: Chinese New Year, Lantern Festival, Qingming Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, which have their origin in traditional Chinese culture, and even have a profound effect on other Eastern Asian countries through history.

Ethnic Minority Festivals in China

Something very typical in China are ethnic festivals. China has so many ethnic minority festivals. Each of the 56 minority groups have their own festivals, to celebrate the New Year, harvest, religion, food, and family. The best part, the people are all dressed up, with exaggerated traditional outfits.

    "Daohuo" rite performed by a group of men is the most important activity of Knife-ladder-climbing festival, and reappears the life history and the arduous spirit of Lisu people in mountainous regions in ancient times.
    Initially, the festival featured a rich atmosphere of religious activities, and later became a big commodity fair, when the merchants from Sichuan, Tibet and regions south of the Yangtze River did business in the March Street.
    The major traditional Mongolian holiday, Naadam festival stands for "game" or "entertainment", and celebrates harvest. The herdsman builds the yurts, selects the strong flocks and herds, makes the milk wine, and decorates with colorful flags.
    Yi people living in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan celebrate this traditional festival and "Oriental valentine's day" on June 24th or 25th. The grand carnival lasts for three days, and all the beautiful girls and boys in traditional clothes participate in.
    The Pan Wang Festival, held on October 16 of the lunar calendar, is one of the most solemn and sacred festivals of the Yao people. During the Pan Wang Festival, the Yao people sing and dance together to celebrate the auspicious day.

Experience Chinese Culture with China Festival Tours

With so many festivals in China, delve into Chinese culture with a tailor-made festival tour and adventures. Easy Tour China offers guided itineraries for you to explore some of the oldest and most unique festivals in the world. Enjoy various special celebrations, foods, and different community or ethnic stories.

More Festivals in China

Harbin Ice Festival

Or named Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, it is one of the four ice festivals in the world. The festival is held in Harbin on Jan 5 annually, and lasts for one month. Featured activities include firework show, winter swimming competition, ice hockey match, snowfield football match, alpine skiing invitational competition, ice carving competition, ice and Snow Photography Exhibition, ice wedding, etc.

China Shopping Festival

The shopping festivals in China mainly include 618 Shopping Festival on June 18, Double 11 Shopping Festival on November 11, and Double 12 Shopping Festival on December 12. During the festival time, the major e-commerce websites like Taobao, Jingdong will run crazy promotional campaigns.

>> Read more: What to Buy in China

Hanfu Festival China

The Hanfu Festival is also known as Shangsi Festival and held on the third day of the third lunar month every year. According to legend, this is the birthday of Yellow Emperor, the first ancestor of the Chinese nation. Based on "The historical records”, hanfu was made by the Yellow Emperor. In order to commemorate the Yellow Emperor, this day was designated as Hanfu Day. The festival activities mainly focus on hanfu dressing and learning traditional Han rites.

China Kite Festival: Weifang International Kite Festival

The Weifang International Kite Festival is an annual kite-flying festival in China's eastern province of Shandong. This kite festival in China has been held since 1984. It usually starts on the third Saturday in April and lasts about half a month. Throughout the kite festival, you can see kites of various shapes and sizes from around the globe and enjoy flying a kite into the sky. If you have some more time, you can also visit the Weifang World Kite Museum to discover more about Chinese kites or build your own kite at Yangjiabu Folk Culture Village.