Taijiang Sister Festival

Taijiang County in Guizhou Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture is the home of the Sister Festival.

Sister Festival is the Valentine’s Day for Miao ethnic group, and has been hailed as “the festival hidden in flower buds”. Every year, from March 15 to 17 of the lunar calendar, Miao girls from all the villages will be good makeup, wearing beautiful dress and gorgeous silver, and then go to participate in the county's costumes play, singing and dancing. At the same time, they will invite the young men to eating the “Sister Meal” together.

In particular, Miao ethnic group is proud for raising daughter, and proud of their daughter's beauty. Since the daughter is born, the mother start to give and store her daughter embroidered costumes, year after year, when her daughter grow into a 16-year-old girl, the mother will take her well-dressed daughter to participate in the Sister Festival.

I heard that beautiful Miao beauties and colorful national costumes are the signs of Taijiang Sister Festival.

In the charming Xijiang Miao Village, some beautiful Miao girls warmly asked me to drink some rice wine, and then I went to a bar with my friends, so I was drunk that night.




So the next day, it was the evening of April 4 (Lunar New Year March 14) when we arrived at Taijiang from Xijiang, in accordance with the prior calendar of events of Sister Festival, we had missed the grand opening ceremony and the large ethnic parade which had finished in the morning. What a pity!


But unexpected, the grand opening ceremony and the large ethnic parade had been postponed until the next day because of the bad weather.




The night of Taijiang in the festival days was particularly charming, lanterns along the river blurred. There were some girls dancing with drums to celebrate their own festival at the square.




The small Taijiang had been crowded with visitors and guests who have long been attracted by the Sister Festival.










In the morning of April 5 (Lunar New Year March 15), we early rushed to Taijiang and found there were many dressed in national costumes, pure, pleasant and beautiful Miao girls in the street, thought it was still early for the ethnic parade. Of course, there were also photographers began to capture the beautiful figures of the Miao girls.
















Accompanied by the sonorous drum and Lusheng, groups of Miao girls who were wearing a variety of Miao clothing we had never seen were stepping on drums, marching steps, twisted posture and coming from a distance.
















Among the Miao teams, some girls were holding their personally beautiful handkerchiefs in their hands to show their embroidered skill; some were holding horn, which filled with Miao rice wine; some were holding the colorful rice, that is the legendary sister meal. After the ending of parade, Miao girls will send the guests a packet of glutinous rice. If the rice has chili inside, it means that she refuse to be friend with you; if the rice has bamboo hook, it means she accept your and fall in love with you, want to hook you. But if there is nothing in the rice, it means she has no feeling to you.






Wearing jewelry is the nature of the Miao girls. Many Miao girls who wearing costumes get together in the street is really o a beautiful silver world.