The Guzhang (Water buffalo offal) Festival takes every 13 years, the festival lasts 3 years. The most grand one is the 3rd year, there will be one in Leishan County in late Feb, 2004. On the late afternoon of the first day, the relatives visit with carp, a duck, a big jar of homemade rice wine. They set off fireworks, when arriving at the edge of the village, then more fire crackers indicating the wealth of a family. On the early second morning, levery household kills two or three fat pigs as part of the festivals. When the relatives leave the village for home, they will take away a 12 kg heavy pig leg., the best including pig tail. During he last three days, the girls, in their holiday costumes from nearby village, get together in Langde Miao Village dancing to the rhythm of Lusheng pipes and try to find a love partner.

This is a general name for the important courtship festivals held annually on a designated site called a “flower ground”, which coulde be translated as choosing a lover. The Lusheng festivals usually take place in January and February and are spectacular. Despite the cold weather, don't miss he opportunity to visit them. Several villages and generations will join the festival. Mothers bring their daughters' finery which consists of embroidered costumes and silver jewelry. In only a very few areas will boys wear traditional dress; for the most part, men have lost this costume. Festivals are usually held over a three-day period, the second and third being the most important. Girls arrive dressed in their festival costumes or put on their gorgeous attire on site. A wide range of courtship rituals are practiced. At Zhouxi, near Kaili, man boys of each village play Lusheng pipes while forming a circle, girls follow with a relatively simple dance step to show off their costumes to best advantage.

Lusheng is an antique reed instrument. The longest one is more than 1 Zhang (a unit of length, 1 Zhang=3 1/3 meters); while the shortest one is less than 1 Chi (a unit of length, 1 Chi=1/3 meter). Some have a maximum of 10 reeds in one Lusheng; some have only single reed or two reeds. The most popular ones have 6 reeds, with forceful but low and deep tone or clear and melodious tone. During the long history of the development of the Miao's culture, Lusheng has been not only regarded as the symbol of their people, but also mixed together with dance music, acrobatics and Wushu (a form of physical culture) etc. With the communication and interaction of the culture among various national ethnic groups, the Lusheng dance is also popular in Dong, Shui, Buyi, Yao and Yi people. There are nearly 100 tunes and dance paces with the Lusheng dance, of which, 10-odd are most popular, in lively rhythm and in bold, rough and warm style. The Lusheng dance may be like this: women's dance accompanied by men's playing or women's and men's dancing accompanied by their own playing. Also Wushu activities and some extremely difficult acrobatic feats of the Miao people have been assimilated in Lusheng dance, which are especially loved by the masses.

Held on the Qingshui River between the 24 th and 27 th of the fifth lunar month, this festival is worthwhile seeing. The Miao come from Taijiang, Zhenyuan and Shibing to take part in the festival. The origin of this festival is explained by the folk story of a dragon that swallowed a fisherman's son. Guya, the fisherman, retaliated and burnt the dragon's home. The fire burned for nine days and finally people celebrated the fisherman's victory by eating the dragon meat. Five villages in the area received different parts of the dragon's anatomy. Each of these villages now holds a dragon festival on a different day to celebrate his destruction. A 17-metre boat and two 10-metre boats are constructed from fir, each with a carved dragon's head on its prow. The boats are launched and over 40 rows drink fiery spirits. They row to village where pleas are made to the dragon to bestow happiness on each community. Pigs, goats, ducks and geese are presented to the crew and headman. Families gather on the bank to eat and gossip and in the evenings the young people sing to each other.

Dong festivals occur throughout each year, providing opportunities for young men and women to meet one another, and for friends and relatives to be reunited. Various activities are held such as singing contests, dances, music, plays, ox and bird fights and sometimes religious ceremonies.

Participating in festive activities are traditional steps for young people towards courtship and marriage. According to custom, several weeks before an important festival, village elders and their young men to several nearby villages to invite the unmarried girls to attend.

On the eve of the festival, the young men come to the village of the invited women with flutes and drums, and bring them back to gather in their village's drum tower. After a rich feast, the young men and women sit in parallel rows facing one another under the eyes of their elders and get to know one another by spontaneously singing to each other. Until dawn, traditional songs mingle with the playing of flutes and stringed instruments.

The next morning, dressed in their finest women and embroidered clothing, and adorned with handmade silver bangles, the women meet together in their own village drum tower to wait. From the other village, the young men deliberately walk back and forth three times playing flutes and drums before the women are “coaxed” into accompanying them to their village for more festivities.

Guizhou has an unrivalled number of colourful minority festivals during the year. This makes it an exceptionally fascinating place to visit. These festivals range through the year. Many follow the lunar calendar so it is always wise to check with local agents who can advise you when and where the best festivals are and how you can reach them, as only the more well- known are listed in Guide books of the province.

At the beginning of the year in the low agricultural season the Miao ethnic group, especially in the southeast of the province take the opportunity to arrange a festival, where the young people can meet each other, dance, and find a marriage partner. A good meeting place is found and villagers from 200 km around arrive by public transport or, more often, by walking over the mountains. Their superb hand-embroidered costumes and silver crowns and jewellery are carried with them in bundles. Reaching the meeting place, often known as a lower ground? the girls dress, aided by their mothers in their traditional costumes, and further embellish their appearance with suburb silver crowns and necklaces. The boys arrive and dress in much more simple garb of trousers, jackets and turbans. Only in a few remote villages do men and boys wear traditional clothes. The boys bring with them lusheng pipes made of bamboo, made by specialised craftsmen. These are one of their most prized possessions. Soon village boys group in circles and play local lusheng melodies. The village girls form circles around them and perform a slow dance, showing off their costumes to the tunes of the pipes. Parents crowd around and admire their siblings. The women discuss the girls costumes and the embroidery with animation. Others crowd around the itinerant traders who have set up all manner of stalls, with, of course lots of games and toys for the accompanying children. Food vendors are soon busy selling the local favourite dishes, ranging from hot sweet potatoes, to roasted chestnuts, fruits and hot spiced noodles. Balloons and multicoloured windmills spin in the cool air. The tunes take on a faster note and the players perform acrobatics, rolling, turning and pretending to be cocks as they play the lusheng pipe. Later the young men and the girls select partners and the circles break up as the couples disappear into the night. The older generation enjoys feasts on the surrounding hillside or goes home to warm fires. Liaisons are made over the next few days as the festivals move from village to village. Each area has slightly different customs but long-term arrangements for marriage are often formed as, among the Miao, the boy chooses girl and only later do parents have to approve the formalised wedding arrangements.

During the festival season the older people, especially the men enjoy buffalo fighting. Many peasants lovingly ply their favourite water buffalo with food and drink to fatten and strengthen him. The buffaloes are then brought to a remote mountainous arena and crowds gather on the hillside to watch. Pairs of buffaloes are matched in turn and contests last for a set time. Winners are then put against other winners until a champion is found. Today a fight to death is not allowed, as was once the practise. The owner of the winning buffalo is greatly admired and respected.

Sometimes associated with the festival are local ground opera troupes, especially in the Anshun area. The participants dress in the costumes of the Ming Dynasty and enact tales of the Han soldiers who came to fight in the area.

The lusheng festivals, in the early part of the year, are usually to be found in the southeast of the province especially around Kaili and Guiyang. These festivals have been formalised and there are other activities organised by the local government such as costume competitions and sporting events. In the west, around Liuzi and Shuicheng area the Long Horned Miao and the Little Flower Miao have festivals in the remote mountains.

A similar festival centred on the boy meeting girl theme is found at Shidong near Taijiang, in the spring. The Shidong girls have stunning indigo dyed costumes embroidered with red silk motifs, and decorated with silver plaques and huge silver crowns. They parade to the lower ground in their costumes. Crowns tinkle and glitter as the girls circle around the boys, displaying their wealth. The government is now organising other traditional activities to such as Dragon Boat Racing to correspond with the festival. There is an opportunity to buy local crafts and embroidery.

Every thirteen years some villages, once again, have Guzang Festivals. This is an ancient tradition to re-establishing the villagers links with their ancestors. The festival is orchestrated by the Shaman and village elders for local people but sometimes it is possible to attend such a festival. All the families kill pigs for huge banquets. In the past buffaloes were slaughtered but today it is far too expensive. Travel organisations should be able to advise you when these rare events take place.

More formalised Song and Dance Costumed Festivals and Parades are being organised in Kaili, which is the capital of the Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture. A big show, inviting local and national minority stars, is put on outdoors around the 1st October. The show is televised and there is a competition to find the most attractive and talented minority girl. The winner prize is the opportunity to carry out all advertising promotions for the province for the rest of the year. There is a parade of all the minorities of the region through the streets of Kaili, and also craft-shows, bullfighting, cockfighting and tea drinking ceremonies.

Travellers can also find more remote festivals in various other parts of the province of Guizhou. The Dong region too, should not be missed and there are many antiphonal singing festivals. If you miss the festivals local agents will always arrange the villagers to put on lusheng dancing for you, so that you will have an opportunity to see the magnificent costumes of the Miao and Dong people.