Yi costume show shines during Lantern Festival

The traditional Yi Costume Competition Festival was held in central Yunnan’s Yongren county on Feb. 24, or the Lantern Festival.

With a history of over 1,350 years, the competition is an important traditional folk activity for celebrating the Lantern Festival in Yongren.

When the 15th day of the first month on the Chinese lunar calendar comes, people from all over the county dress up in splendid Yi costumes, singing and dancing.

Accompanied by the lively tunes of the gourd flute, teams of young girls, children, and men take turns to perform on the stage, displaying the the Yi people’s cultural essence of praising beauty and hard work.

"Since my childhood, my family and I have been in own embroidered traditional costumes for the competition on the Lantern Festival. Seeing this event becoming livelier year by year, I feel very excited,” said villager Li Xiangli.

With more and more people beginning to understand the costume competition, more youngsters will dedicate themselves to inheriting this tradition.”

Source: Yunnan News; trans-editing by Wang Yunya