The Mixian festival has been celebrated for several hundred years and is a traditional festival unique to Yuxi people. The festival originates from worship for the God of Land. The former name of Yuxi is Xinxingzhou which consisted of Pushe, Xiuna and Yanhe counties. The three counties had their own God of Land respectively. The Mixian Festival came from the tradition of the patrol of Pu Guantong, the general representative of the God of Land. In ancient times, Xinxingzhou was surrounded by forests and rivers with few human inhabitants. Wild and fierce animals such as wolves and leopards could be seen in many places. In one summer, after seven days and nights of pouring rain, farm fields and houses were destroyed and people became homeless without food. The official who was in charge of water control in Xiuna Government Pu Guantong left his wife and children to lead people to rebuild flood control dam, dredge rivers, open new farm fields, and plant crops, and finally defeated the disaster. After three years of treatment, Xinxingzhou became a land without floods or draughts and people were living a content life. Unfortunately, Pu Guantong died unexpectedly due to fatigue. People believed that Pu Guantong was a god sent by the Heaven to save them, and therefore called him with respect “Guardian God”, “God of Land”, or “Master Tuzhu”. Later, Han people moved from Jiangnan (the River South) to dwell in Yunnan. People wouldn’t forget the unselfish official and collected money to build a Tuzhu (God of Land) Temple in his honor. One year in spring time, Tuzhu Temple was completed and people gathered there to hold a big banquet to celebrate the event. Except for the traditional 8 dishes, the most noticeable dish was Mixian (rice noodles) covered with various dressings. An intellectual on his way to imperial test saw the scene and commented that it looked like a festival. People then asked him, “What festival?” He answered with a bowl of Mixian in his hand, “Mixian Festival.” The name was gladly accepted by the mass. Then one person suggested, “Tuzhu God’s treatment of water has brought welfare to local people and he shall be remembered by all. To give all people chances to worship him, villages should take turns to have his stature in the village for one day in a year.” The suggestion was approved immediately. After discussion, the patrol route was decided. One carriage and two boards with characters “Constructing Water Conservancy” and “Benefiting People” were specially made for the event. Since then, starting on the first day of the Chinese lunar New Year, the villages have been taking turns to receive the statue of Tuzhu God according to negotiated route that passes through 128 villages. The event ends on February 25 of the Chinese lunar calendar and then the statue is returned to the Tuzhu Temple. The event also stimulated areas nearby to receive their own god for the Mixian Festival, which lasts from the first day to March 22 of the Chinese lunar calendar. The whole Xinxingzhou had 7 Tuzhu gods and 10 Ancestors and that made the participating villages to 470 which lasted 81 days. It became a folk event that was of the largest scale and the longest time. Counted from 1276, the Mixian Festival has been celebrated for more than seven hundred years. Rather than described as people’s worship for ancestors, the festival can be regarded as to show people’s good wishes for a peaceful time and a happy living without disasters. With the development of the society, people’s living standard has been elevated and the celebration of the Mixian Festival is also endowed with more varieties. Now people call the festival “Gathering Festival”, “Harvest Festival” or “Bean-bran Festival”. At the festival, parents will invite their married daughters and sons-in-law together for the celebration of the occasion.

The festival commenced in the lantern festival in 1990. The first festival was hosted by the county government and supported by the association of veteran cadres on poetry, painting and calligraphy and the association of birds and flowers on county downtown. The festival happens usually around January 16 of the Chinese lunar calendar. The first five festivals were held every year and starting in 1996 it became every other year. The event usually lasts 7 to 11 days. The major activity of the festival is flower exhibition which includes birds, flowers, paintings, calligraphy, lanterns, performances, and crafts. The major products at show include traditional peach and plum bonsais, precious Tonghai torch lily, root carvings, stone carvings, and wood carvings. Poetry stage is set up for visitors to write poems and calligraphy. There is also an opera stage for opera lovers to perform. The festival presents the spring scene of flowers in multiple colors and lanterns of various patterns. The principle of the festival is relying on the festival as a platform for economic development. At the festival, the whole city is decorated with numerous flowers anywhere you go. Folk arts show, poem writing and calligraphy creating bring intensive cultural atmosphere to the town. Meanwhile, market fair and snack street are also set up for shopping and tasting local delicacies. The festival is a major cultural celebration and tourism event in Tonghai. It has been playing an important role in creating harmonious society and enhancing the growth of holiday economy. It has become a successful integration of traditional culture and modern market economy.

December 25 of every year is the opening day of fishing season in Jiangchuan and a celebration is held on the day. To fully develop fishing culture and transfer natural resource into economic advantage, starting from 2005, the Fishing-start Festival and Plateau Freshwater Lake Aquatic Products Fair has been held. At the festival, large stage performance, bonfire party, auction of rare dried fish and fresh fish, sales of deep-processed fish products, and the Fish Banquet Competition are held. The festival has been enhancing the development of the social economy in Jiangchuan.

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.

It is organized by the Department of Commerce under the provincial government and the Yuxi Municipal People’s Government and operated by Yuxi Municipal Bureau of Commerce, Yimen County Committee, Yimen County Government and Yunnan Mushroom Association, with mushroom trading, investment negotiation, folk art performance, souvenir exhibition, and cultural achievement exhibition. The goal of holding the fair is to exhibit the unique resources, ethnic culture and beautiful ecological environment of Yimen and to promote economic, social and cultural development of the county.

Huaning has the agreeable climate for orange growing. According to historical records, the area had planted oranges as early as Hongwu Period of the Ming Dynasty. Files of Li County from the Republic of China also records that the major agricultural products of the county included orange. With the long tradition of orange growing and several decades of cultivating, oranges grown in Huaning are famous for early maturing and high quality. Because oranges from Huaning have the characteristics of early maturing, high yielding, good quality, appropriate proportion of sweetness and sourness, and containing rich vitamins, they won gold medal and silver medal in the first and the second China Agricultural Expositions respectively and was approved to be high quality product by the Ministry of Agriculture. Qiuboxi, the brand of Huaning oranges, has become standardized with scientific management and commercialization of distribution. By the end of 2007, the planting area had reached 40,398 mu and the yield had amounted to 44,372 tons with a sales income of 71.2 million yuan. Its oranges are sold in the whole province as well as Guizhou, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Anhui, Hebei, Tianjin, Heilongjiang, and Xinjiang, and the sales are expanding in Canada, Russia and Southeast Asian countries. At the moment, oranges have been planted in Huaxi, Panxi, Qinglong and Tonghongdian in 150 villages of 35 village committees with 7,482 families in total. Huaning has become the biggest orange growing base in Yunnan and thus has been called the home of oranges. Orange production has been taken as the characteristic industry in its construction of open eco-agriculture county in Huaning. Since 2000, seven orange festivals have been held to promote Qiuboxi brand which has been well received by markets within and outside the province. To optimize its resources, in 2003, Huaning started “oranges turn red” eco-tourism route to further promote Qiuboxi and the image of Huaning. The orange festival is held in 9th to 13th September every year starting from 2008.

The beef soup is delicious. But traditionally, people could have it only on the festival. With the development of the society and uplifting of people’s living standard, some people started to sell beef soup on other days and other soups were created, such as mutton soup and dog soup. Stock pot has become very popular in the Gasa basin. Stock pot has been well received by visitors and gained its market. The government of Xinping County has decided to hold Gasa Stock-pot Festival from October 1st to 3rd every year to promote Huayaodai culture and its special culinary.

The Mango Festival is an important component of the holidays and festivals in Yuanjiang. It started in 2004 and is held in middle or late June every year. It has developed into a well-known tourism brand of Yuanjiang. The theme of the festival is centered on mango and supported by sightseeing, experiencing, entertaining, and commercial activities. During the festival, the rich resources of tropical fruits and colorful ethnic customs are presented to visitors.