On the evening of September 14, the 2023 Tujia Sheba Festival and Yongshun Vine Tea Culture Festival kicked off at the Tusi Campsite Resort in Yongshun County, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.
To celebrate harvest in autumn and pray for good weather in the coming year, Tujia men dance with flexible, rough, beautiful, and fast-paced movements, which injects new blood into the development of Tujia dance.
Xiangxi is a magical and charming land, where the diverse cultural forms, rich cultural connotations, unique cultural spirit, and dynamic cultural atmosphere attract people.
Whenever there is a major event, distinguished guests will be always served a steaming cup of Yongshun Vine Tea by Tujia girls.
Yongshun Vine Tea grows deep in the mountains of the hinterland of the Wuling Mountain area, and its unique geographical advantage has contributed to its natural quality with rich selenium, green cultivation, rich ketone, sweet flavor, and unique effects.
In recent years, Yongshun County has developed the vine tea industry, with a planting area of 110,000 mu (about 7,333.33 hectares), an output of over 2,000 tons, and an output value of over 700 million yuan. It has driven tens of thousands of villagers to become rich and boosted rural revitalization.
Maoba Township has won the title of “ National Demonstration Town for ‘One Village, One Product’”.
Vine tea is a specialty of Yongshun County, with a planting history of over a thousand years. Yongshun County is known as the “hometown of ancient vine tea”.
Yongshun County has vigorously implemented the brand construction of vine tea. Currently, it has 20 brand trademarks such as Xizhou Vine Tea, Sicheng Tribute Tea, Heba Stream Vine Tea and Zaoyuan Vine Tea. The county’s eight vine tea products have obtained green food certification, and “Yongshun Vine Tea” has been rated as a national geographical indication protected agricultural product and has passed the national green food certification.
In July 2015, the Tujia vine tea making technique was included in the seventh batch of prefecture-level intangible cultural heritage list in Xiangxi.
In December 2021, it was listed in the fifth batch of representative projects of provincial-level intangible cultural heritage. It is a successful example of creative transformation of intangible cultural heritage and an important industry to promote rural development.
In September 2023, Yongshun Vine Tea was awarded the demonstration brand of Hunan tea, and Guxizhou Vine Tea produced by Dafeng Company won the gold award for famous and excellent tea at the 15th Hunan Tea Expo in 2023.
The Tujia hand-waving dance integrates songs, dances, music, and dramas to showcase the extensive and rich historical and social life of the Tujia ancestors, such as human reproduction, ethnic migration, hunting and farming.
Sheba Festival is a traditional and unique ethnic festival of the Tujia people to cherish ancestral virtues and pray for blessings.
In recent years, Yongshun County has held the Tujia Sheba Festival for many times, which has been built into a festival brand with distinct ethnic characteristics. It won the festival award with ethnic characteristics in 2012 and 2017.
