Zhangjiajie Travel network of the meeting

Nation Culture

Zhangjiajie is a city of minority ethnic groups. Half of the total population of the city are minorities, over 700,000.There are the Tujias ,the Bais ,the Miaos and the Huis. Besides, there're some Mans ,Tongs, and Yaos.

The Tujias

    There are various explanations about the origin of this tribe .But one thing is certain ,the Tujia has a long history.
    Shange is Tujia's favorite folk literature. It includes love poems, viewing poems and labor poems. The Tujias is a versatile tribe .The traditional Hand-Waving Dance and Xilankapu (a kind of colorful quilt cover) are the artistic flowers of the Tujias.
    The Tujias is a hard-working and brave tribe, etc .those who live in Zhangjiajie. They and the Wuling Mountain set each other off beautifully.

The Bais

    The Bais are distributed mainly in Dali , Yunnan Province,

They share the same origin as the ancient Qiangs. The Bais have created splendid civilization: the three pagodas in Chongsheng Temple built in the Tang Dynasty, the statues in the Tang Dynasty, the statues in the grotos in Shibao Mountain Jianchuan, and the famous "lion Dance".
The Bais has a grand traditional festival: "Dali March Street" heldfrom March 15 to March 30 in lunar calendar. And there are also the Rao San Ling ,a folk carnival. and the Torch Festival, and the Torch Festival.
The Bais in Sangzhi County migrated from a distant Place, but their tradition and convention haven't changed.

The Miaos

The Miaos are distributed mainly in Guizhou, Hunan , Yunnan ,Sichuan , Guangxi, and Hainan .They are also among the ancient ethnic groups with a long history .Tradition has it that Chiyou is the ancestor of the Miaos .Since the tribe Jiuli Iad by Chiyou is the tribe Jiuli led by Chiyou was defeated by the tribe led by Emperor Huang ,the Miaos were forced to cross the Yangtze River.
The Miaos are good at singing and dancing. Their Lisheng Dance as well as Bench Dance and Monkey Drum Dance are given high praise by tourists from all sides.

The Hand-Waving Dance of the Tujias

The Tujias enjoy themselves by dancing Hand-Waving Dance from the beginning of January to the 17th of lunar calendar. The Tujia people are dressed in splendid attire and sing and dance in front of the Hand-Waving Hall. At night they will beat drums and gongs. In these more than ten days, the tujias are immersed in a warm and lively at mosphere.

Mao Gu Si Dance

    Mao Gu Si Dance is the most primitive, the most ancient and the roughest type of Tujia dance .It mainly reflects the ancient primitive lives of the Tujia shunting, fishing, and so on .The dancers are usually covered with straws.

She Ba Festival

    This is also a traditional festival of the Tujias. It is held from Jan .3rd to Jan . 17th of lunar calendar. people splendid attires. Moreover, the She By Festival is a good chance for young people to seek lovers.

April 8

    April 8 of lunar calendar is one of the Tujia's traditional festivals. people write Maoniang Card which, according tolegends, can get rid of caterpillars.

June 6

    June 6 of lunar calendar is said to be the commemo-ration day of Qinghou's Death. Qinghou was a farmer uprise leader sup-pressed by Zhuyuanzhang, the emperor of Ming Dynasty.

The Tujia Girls Sobbing Out While Marrying

    During the wedding ceremony or even two months before the wedding, the bride or the would-be bride will cry. For them, this is not only a venting of their reluctancy of leaving their parents, but a reflection of their intelligence. Thus,cryingbefore wedding is a decisive step for the girls.

The Autumn Market Day

    The Autumn Market Day is a traditional festival of the Miaos. It is held in August of lunar calendar every year. The autumn market is busy, lively and bustling with all the Miaos from the nearby places. It's good for people to exchange commodity; also good for young couples to sing and dance.

The Colorful Ribbon of the Miaos

    The clever and deft Miao girls can weave different colorful ribbons. the ribbons were made originally to prevent the snakes from biting people. Generation after generation, the ribbons now become good gifts both for lovers and for friends.

Singing in Antiphonal Style

    The Miao wedding usually lasts three days and two nights. During the two nights. the guests are engaged in puzzles, happy songs and suona, alocal musical in-strum singing happy singing happy songs in antiphonal style is the most attractive part, which is fully pre-pared. This is a multi lateral competition .There are singers on the bride's behalf, on the bridegroom's behalf, and also on the guest's behalf. It's really enjoyable to see the several teams sing in antiphonal style.

Paint"Ba Qu"

    It is very interesting to wear a Miao wedding. Ba Qu refers to a young men who carries meat and wine to receive the bride on behalf on the bridegroom when Ba Quis having supper with the family of the bride, it's not uncommon for the BaQu to be painted in face by sootlovered palms. According to the Miao folklore, the more black his face is painted, the happier the bride will be after she gets married .

Asking for Songs

    On the third day of the wedding, the guests go home after breakfast. Because most of the guests who had escorted the bird are girls, some young men will prevent the girls from leaving by asking for songs on behalf of the bridegroom. Ba Qu is the most active among them, because he had been teased by the girl guests can not go home until it is dark. Even so, the girls are very glad.

Beat Liuzi

    Beat Liuzi is also called Beat Jiahuo, or Jialuoha in Tujia dialect. The major instus are Gong, Big Gong, Big Cymbal, and Small Cymbal, accompanied by Suona sometimes.Beating LinZicomes into lively and happy musical effects. It is a precious musical legacy of the Tujias.

Tima Magic Song

    Tima Mgis Song is sung in Tujia d i a l e c t by Tima (an authorata-tive old folkman) while offering sacrifices to the God .In most cases, when Tima is singing, the listeners will accompany him .

Babao Bronze Bell Dance

    In a sunlit and enchanting scene of spring, some dancers sing and dance wearing resplant phoenix coronet, dressed in colorful silk skirt and holding exqiostote bronze bells. They dance by benches which symbol the horses ridden by their brave ancestors ,this ceremony is held to beg blessing from ancestors.

Diaojiaolou of the Tujia

    The Tujias like dwelling in groups. Their houses are called Diaojiaolou, which are made by wood and covered by grey tiles.

The Welcome Dragon Dance of the Miaos

    Long Long ago, the Miaos lived on the Sun Mountain where they had tivh harvests and led a happy life. However, the long-haired ghost was soenvious that he incited the Thunder God to drive the dragon away, which was essential for rain according to the legend. From then on, there was droughts every year for the Miaos. The only way was to welcome the dragon back .Thus the welcome dragon ceremony the ,iaos dressed in colorful clothes and danced an sang with the local musical instruments to express their sincerity to welcome the dragon.

The Miaos'Dress

    The Miaos' dress is simple .they weave cloth and make dress by themselves. Only the colorful thread and the silk part are bought. The men wear the Chinese- style jacket with buttons down the front .The women's dread corcentrates on the embroidery edges. The women are fond of silver devcorations. They wear it on the head, around the wrists and the neck .

The Zhang Drum Dance of the Bais

    It is an unique form of dancing of the Bais, especially those who live near The major stage prop is Zhang Drum,1.2 meter long, tow edges thick and the middle thin .
     This dance is usually along with Chinese flute and Suona ,traditional Chinese folk instrument. And it can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty.

Offer Lights Dance of the Bais

    From New Year's Eve of the lunar calendar until the Lantern Festival, that is, from Jan 1 to Jan 15 of lunar calendar, the Bais will light lamps by their ancestor's tomba, offer sacrifices to them and beg them to bless their off springs.

The Bais's Custom of Washing Face

    According to their custom, the young people of the Bais will wash their faces three days before their wedding. On the morning of the first day, the bride's elder generation will fill a washbasin will fill a washbasin with warm water for the young couple to wash their faces, On the morning of the second day, it will be the bridegroom's elder generation who fill the washbasin with warm water for the young couple. On the third morning, the bride and bridegroom will wash faces for each other. Thus, during the years after the wedding, the couple will recall the sweet moment whenever they quarrel with each other.

The Bais' Temple Fair

    The date of the temple fair depends on the birthday of the God in the ancestor's hall of the Bais. When the day comes, the local folks will go to the fair with all kinds of agricultural products, Moreover, people will sing and dance to celebrate it.

Golden Fragrant Pomelo

    It is among the five kinds of famous pomelos in China, It grows mature one month before most pomelos do. It weighs half a kilogram each, It tastes sweet.

Chinese Chestmitm Point Chestnut, Dafang chestunt

    Chinese Chestunt and point Chestunt belong to beech. The main constituent of their fruit are starch and sugar. Dafang Chestunt is nutritious. Its seeds produce more oil than tea oil trees do. Dafang Chestnut is one of the favorite fruits for macaque.

Tangerine

    It grows mostly along Suoxi of Wulingyuan and in regions near Wulingyuan. When it is ripe, the biggest weighs up to 400 grams. It tastes sweet.

Mountain Fruit

    Wulingyuan abounds in wild fruits. They are both various ,In January of Lunar year ,there is sabingling fruit; in February, there is bangnai fruit ;in March, there is fresh berry; in April ,there is loquat ;in May ,there is cherry; in june, there is mountain peach; in July, there is wild peach; in July, there is wild pear; in August, there is Kivi fruit; in September ,there is Chinese chestunt and wild lichee; during winter days ,there is persimmon.
Sour Saited Fish

    Sour Saited Fish is a kind of fried fish .Its materials are tiny fish and flour. It tastes a bit sour and appetizing.

Stone Frog

    Stone Frog live in streams or deep pools .They give out the sound of "bang ,bang ".Thus they are also called Bang Bang Frog.

Ga Ga Chicken

    Ga Ga Chicken or Rock Chicken ,lives in mountainous area. It is fat and weighs 1.5 to 2.5 kilograms in average.

Litsea Citate oil

    It is a spicy condiment. It tastes and smells fragrant while eating fish or finless eel.

Finless Eel and Lettuce

    Finless eel is fried in vegetable oil, and then is poured into chafing dish. when the soup is boiling, put lettuce in. It's a delicious dish.

Dog Casserole

    lt 's a traditional dish of the Tujias .The main material is dog's meat with skin. The condiments include ginger ,scallion, wine, hotpepper, cassia bark and pepper powder.

Tuan San

    Tuan San is made from fried glutious rice with the patten "Xi", which means happiness, on its surface. It is popular among the Miaos, the Tujias, the Bais and the Hans.

Chinese Chestnut and Chichen

Wulingyuan abounds in Chinese chestnut. The soup of Chinese chestnut and chicken is unique, nutritious and delicious.