People celebrate ‘Tujia New Year’ in Longshan County

The Photographers Association Annual Conference was held in Touche Village, Hongyanxi Town, Longshan County, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture on January 14. More than 200 tourists, photography enthusiasts, inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, and local villagers participated in the activity to experience the unique traditional folk customs of the “Tujia New Year”. At 10:18 am, the villagers dressed in festive attire lifted the New Year pig with a red flower on its head for a parade, with incense and sacrifices offered, and sacrificial texts recited.

With the original welcome song by Hunan Industry Polytechnic, a variety of Tujia folk performances of intangible cultural heritage inheritors such as hand-waving dance were staged, adding a unique local flavor to the “Tujia New Year”.

On the site, villagers were frying dough, braising oil tea soup, making Ciba, etc. Members of the Longshan County Calligraphers Association wrote Spring Festival couplets and sent them to villagers. Members of the Artists Association and Writers Association in Longshan County were also using their brushes and pens to create exquisite works. The Tujia Eight-people Table banquet was prepared with various Tujia delicacies. Tourists and villagers enjoyed themselves at the feast.

“The village has wooden buildings, green mountains and clear water. Tourists and villagers can experience the rich Tujia customs on the site, like enjoying the ‘pig’ feast and making Ciba themselves, enhancing the brand of folk culture and the popularity of tourism,” said Deng Shilong, Party secretary of Touche Village.

Longshan County, a settlement place inhabited by the Tujia ethnic group deep in the mountains, is famous for its Tujia festive celebrations. The Tujia people here will hold a grand festival to celebrate the Chinese New Year every year. On the day, villagers kill pigs, cook delicious dishes, and reunite with their families. As night falls, the village is filled with laughter and joy, and villagers sing and dance with good wishes for the new year.

In addition, villagers will make delicious Ciba with selected glutinous rice and various fillings to welcome the arrival of the New Year together.

The Tujia New Year in Longshan County showcases the beauty of the countryside and the unique customs of the Tujia ethnic group. Here, villagers celebrate the New Year in their own ways to inherit the tradition and make this small mountain village full of vitality.