3rd ‘Pinglang Tofu’ Cultural Festival kicks off

On January 31, the Xiangxi Winter Village Gala Series Activities as well as the 3rd “Pinglang Tofu” Cultural Festival was held in Pinglang Village, Aizhai Town, Jishou City.

The village gala consisted of “Happy Miao Village”, “Beautiful Hometown”, and “Beautiful Xiangxi”. It began with a Miao song to showcase the huge changes of Xiangxi Prefecture and praise today’s happy new life. Subsequently, a series of colorful programs were staged in turn such as situational dance, folk song duet, group dance, acrobatics, band singing, and cross-talk, providing a wonderful and diverse rural cultural feast for the audience in winter. The performance also attracted many netizens online through live streaming.

In addition, a variety of folk activities were also prepared on the site. At the rural market, there were specialty snacks such as Pinglang Tofu, glutinous rice cake with wormwood, vinegar radish, cured meat, and fermented tofu, as well as a dazzling array of handicrafts such as Miao flower belt, embroidery, and wax dyeing. At the Pinglang Tofu Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritance Base, tourists could experience the producing process of Pinglang Tofu up close and enjoy the Pinglang Tofu Long Table Banquet.

There were also other activities such as Miao flower drum performances and Miao tea making, allowing tourists to experience the unique charm of Chinese Lunar New Year in Xiangxi. “Our tofu is made from local green soya beans. The beans are soaked in natural mountain spring water, ground by hand, and smoked with firewood, with an entire manual process,” said a salesperson of the Pinglang tofu booth.

“I often participate in such intangible cultural heritage activities, and I think this event is great. Xiangxi is a settlement place for ethnic minorities, and it is one of our folk customs to celebrate the Miao New Year. I hope there will be such an activity every year,” said a citizen.