Hundreds of Yao people in Chaping Village, Tangdong Subdistrict, Zixing City, gathered together to give a long table banquet and perform Long Drum Dance in celebration of Panwang Festival being included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage.

There are 2 Yao ethnic townships including Huilongshan and Bamianshan, and 4 Yao villages such as Chaping Village in Tangdong Subdistrict, with a total of 5,334 Yao people. As a traditional festival, Panwang Festival is held in memory of Yao people’s mythological ancestor Pan Hu (also Panwang or King Pan).  It is celebrated on the sixteenth day of the tenth lunar month (usually mid- to late November), which is the birthday of Panwang. Yao people in Zixing City usually hold a votive ceremony for Panwang for 3 days or 7 days, in which they will make a campfire, sing Panwang Song and perform Long Drum Dance to express their thanks for Panwang’s blessing.

“We are quite excited to hear that Panwang Festival has been listed as national intangible cultural heritage. We will continue to hold the 3 major traditional festivals of Yao Nationality each year and carry forward the fine traditional heritage of the nation.” Zhao Guangshun, an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage in Chaping Village, said that they have held Panwang Festival, Qichun Festival (in celebration of spring ploughing) and Reunion Festival for a long time. Therefore, Chaping Village and Panwang Hall have been listed as “Chenzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Preservation Base” and “Hunan Intangible Cultural Heritage Preservation Base”.

“The fact that this festival was included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage indicates that Zixing has done a good job in protecting and preserving Yao ethnic culture. Next, based on Panwang Festival, we will pay special attention to exploring the essence of the fine intangible cultural heritage of Yao Nationality by developing village tourism and promoting the development of characteristic industries such as Yao embroidery, handicrafts and specialties,” said an official of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Zixing.