Ethnic festival celebrated in southwest China

People of the Yi ethnic group daub each other’s face during Hualian (“daubed face”) Festival in Qiubei County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, July 18, 2019. The Hualian Festival is a traditional annual festival of the Yi ethnic group in Qiubei County where people drive out evil and get good luck by daubing their faces black. 

Thousands of people converged in a local square Thursday in southwest China’s Yunnan Province to celebrate an ethnic festival.

The “Hualianjie,” or “face-painting festival,” is a traditional festival of the Yi Ethnic Minority. It has almost 1,000 years of history.

The public in ethnic clothes gathered at the Jiaolian Square in Qiubei County, as they painted each other’s face black. According to local folklore, if a person is painted completely black on the day, he or she will be lucky for the rest of their life.

In ancient times, the Yi people painted each other black with crop straw ashes to exorcise demons.   Aerial photo taken on July 18, 2019 shows people of the Yi ethnic group celebrating Hualian (“daubed face”) Festival in Qiubei County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. 

Source: Xinhua News Agency                                                                   Update: July 24, 2019