Yuxi Municipal People's Government
Celebration of Summer Beginning in Chengjiang County
Celebration of summer beginning is a traditional folk festival of Han People in Chengjiang County. The celebration lasts three days every year. It used to be held in Xilongtan (West Dragon Pond), four kilometers from downtown of the county, and therefore was also called Xipu Festival. Now the celebration is held at the Square of Wind on the north shore of the Fuxian Lake.
According to the record of opera performance on a stele erected in 1755, when it was the beginning of summer and the birthday of the Dragon King, operas would be performed for one day by turns of villages. On Illusions by He Zongzhang in the late Qing Dynasty also records, “There is a spring, also known as Xilongtan, in Chengjiang. A temple is built beside the pond. At the beginning of summer every year, operas are performed to express worship to gods. Men and women gather here for the celebration. Local people call it Xipu Festival.” Local folklores say that a beautiful girl living in a village near Xilongtan was married to the Dragon King. She was grateful for the land and villagers who raised her and so whenever there was draught, she would ask the Dragon King to shelter rain for seasonal farming of the village. This gradually evolved into the Summer Beginning Festival. In old times, when the celebration began, a strong lad would be selected by respected seniors of Han people or Hui people to dive into the pond and put a copper medal inscribed with “favorable weather for a bumper harvest” in a cave under the water. Performances of operas then followed, which would usually last three days. People from other counties nearby would also come to participate in the celebration. Officials would join civilians to have fun together. Color-striped booths and stands would spread out at the foot of the mountain close to Xilongtan for selling local specialties and serving tea.
The celebration continued for several years after new China was founded and then stopped for several decades. It was renewed in 1989. In order to adapt to the farming season, the celebration is put off five days from the beginning of summer. In 1995, as local people required, the celebration extended from three days to five days and the time was set from May 10 to 14. Cultural section of the local government is involved in organizing activities. In addition to the Dian Opera and the Huadeng Opera, dragon dance, lion dance, donkey dance, and other folk dances and performances are performed at the celebration.
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