Young men and women chase each other and blacken their faces with black ash mixed from special materials for the blessing of good luck and happiness during the Huanlian Festival.
The opening ceremony of 2009 China Yunnan Puzhehei Huanlian Festival and the listing ceremony of National AAAA Class Scenery Destination Puzhehei will be held at Qiubei County, Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province on August 14. And the Huanlian Festival carnival will be held at Jiaolian(椒莲) Square of Qiubei County the next day, at the same time to officially declare Guinness World Record.
Huanlian Festival is the most solemn one in the festivals of Yi people in Qiubei County. Young men and women chase each other and blacken their faces with black ash mixed from special materials for the blessing of good luck and happiness.
Qiubei County in the southeast of Yunnan Province is a charming land boasting beautiful karst land formations, lakes and the unique cultures of the Zhuang, Miao, Yi and Bai ethnic groups living there.
Puzhehei, 11 km from Qiubei County, covering an area of 85 square km, is a basin scenic area with some 300 green isolated peaks fringing the banks of the lakes. Girls of the Zhuang ethnic group dressed in folk costumes which are adorned with jingling silver ornaments and embroidery, row little wooden boats and send visitors along the winding 21-km water corridor through Luoshuidong Lake, Puzhehei Lake and Xianren Lake. There are about 100 karst caves, most with two floors--a higher dry cave and a lower wet cave with an elevation of 1,450 meters.(Editor: Minnie Mao)
