An Exhilarating Carnival to Enliven Your Senses

It is the time of the year when numerous shutterbugs escape from the rooms to get a glimpse of the breathtaking moments of stunning flowers. When you flock to Guangxi， hometown of Sister Liu Sanjie （the legendary singing fairy） and home of folk songs， and ask the locals for “the experience should not miss”， the answer you may hear is the “Sanyuesan Festival”. In China， auspicious events are often calculated based on the lunar calendar. The Sanyuesan Festival， formerly known as the Shangsi Festival， falls on March 3rd of traditional Chinese lunar calendar when tender shoots thrive on green trees and colorful flowers are in blossom. Widely celebrated by the Zhuang people across Guangxi with various activities， the March 3rd Festival is a traditional grand gathering which is bound to be both impressive and thrilling.

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， a beautiful place which is also named “Bagui” （originally refers to eight cassia trees in this region）， is bordered by the Beibu Gulf to the south， Guangdong， Hong Kong （China） and Macao （China） to the east， Guizhou and Hunan to the north. It is inhabited by nationalities such as Zhuang， Han， Yao， Miao， Dong， Mulao， Li， Maonan and She. Guangxi， where distinct Zhuang culture can be found everywhere， serves as the largest settlement for the Zhuang nationality throughout the whole country.

The March 3rd Festival is an ancient traditional festival for the Zhuang people during which people would go for an outing by the water， breathe fresh air， and sing to each other， which was historically widely described in paintings and poems. More surprisingly， the March 3rd Festival is also honored by lovers as the oldest Valentine’s Day.

As for its origin， there are many different versions. Some said it stemmed from a dinner party during the Zhou Dynasty （1046-256 BC）. Others said it came from the custom of driving away evils by bathing in a river. On this day， a primitive sacrificial ceremony by the riverside would be held to honor ancestors. After the ceremony， in order to cleanse and purify their bodies， they would bathe in a river with herbs. Following that， a spring outing would be carried out by young men and women -- these scenes were vividly described in the ancient book Shijing （The Book of Poetry）. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties （222-589）， this day had been evolved into a day featuring a lot of activities such as drinking by the river， making springtime excursions and expressing feelings towards each other among young people.

There was another story about this day. It was said that Fuxi， one of the three emperors who was credited with introducing farming， fishing and animal husbandry， and his wife Nuwa， a goddess in Chinese mythology with the body of a woman and the tail of a snake became pregnant on this day. Coincidently， this explains exactly why there are still some places celebrating this day in hornor of Fuxi and Nuwa. Overall， this festival can be associated with sacrifice， date between men and women， having an outing in spring， as well as praying for children.

The activities of the Shangsi Festival have changed with the times. The recreational feast by the river prevailed during the Han Dynasty （202 BC-220 AD）. It was after the Wei and Jin Dynasties that the event was developed into the March 3rd Festival that fell on the third day of the third lunar month. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties （1368-1912）， the ritual activities were gradually omitted， and the festival was evolved into a spring outing， featuring lively activities involving listening to love songs， throwing embroidered balls， dancing， and eating glutinous rice.

A place that folk songs dearly love

Honored as “the ocean of folk songs”， Guangxi is the homeland of Sister Liu Sanjie （Zhuang’s Goddess of Songs）. In spite of different versions of tales about Sister Liu Sanjie， Zhuang people honor her for hundreds of years. So far， there is an old saying that the prosperity of songs in Guangxi attributes to Sister Liu Sanjie.

Zhuang people， male or female， are reputed for singing， and they start to learn singing at the age of four or five. Usually the fathers teach the sons， and the daughters learn from the mothers， thus forming such a custom： Learning songs in childhood， singing in adulthood， and teaching in old age. In the countryside， people sing at any time and any place， whether laboring in the fields， cutting firewood in the mountains， or even courting， whether at the wedding， funeral or festival. By sining songs， they can express their feelings. In some places， people even sing in their everyday conversations or even in the quarrels among family members. Therefore， the vast place where Zhuang people live gets a nickname “the ocean of folk songs”.

Zhuang songs are rich both in quantity and category. Based on the theme and style， they can be classified into ancient songs， narrative long songs， life songs， labor songs， political songs， rite songs， love songs， kid songs and so on. However， when singing the Zhuang songs， people should follow certain established etiquettes and regulations， especially political songs， rite songs and love songs. For instance， the love songs are allowed to be sung freely in the wild songfests， but are forbidden at home or at the presence of parents. Different rite songs are sung on different occasions. Even different guests receive different welcome songs.

Throughout the year， there are several regular folk song fairs for the Zhuang people， such as the song fairs on January 15th， March 3rd， April 8th， and August 15th， among which the song fair on March 3rd is the most celebrated event. To the Zhuang ethnic people in Southwest China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region， the March 3rd Festival is a day for young people to sing songs and find their lovers.

The song fair usually lasts for two or three days. Young boys and girls are divided into two teams and they sing in an antiphonal style. The songs are composed on the spot： Someone from one team would start with a call or a question， and others from the opposing team would give a response by singing. Boys and girls get to know each other through this grand gathering， and if they find each other congenial， they will exchange keepsakes as a sign of promise. Since then， the custom hunting for lovers by singing has been passed down. Songs expressing their wishes for harvest， love and happiness are ceaseless on this land.

In the name of love

During the March 3rd Festival， besides the traditional songfest， there are various forms of recreational activities， such as seizing fireworks， touching colored eggs， dragon dances， poem contests， acrobatic shows and throwing Xiuqiu （embroidery ball）.

For the Zhuang people， Xiuqiu is regarded as a significant love token. There are twelve connected petals on its surface and each petal represents a month. As a handcraft made and spread widely by generations of the Zhuang ethnic group， the ball is typically red， green or yellow. The skilled craft， colorful shade， rough style and harmonious composition not only are of historical significance for the Zhuang people， but also symbolize unadorned ethnic belief of the locals.

Before the festival， girls are busy preparing the Xiuqiu. On that day young girls get all dolled up and gather together. Boys hold precious gifts， while girls take the Xiuqiu as a love token. If a girl finds a loved one through antiphonal singing， she can throw a silk ball to this boy. Without matchmaker and betrothal gifts， they can even get married， which makes the love and marriage of Zhuang people more romantic.

Every March 3rd Festival， girls and boys of the Zhuang people will come to hold a ceremony for throwing Xiuqiu. Nowadays， Xiuqiu has not only acted as a medium between girls and boys， but also as a decoration at home or a gift for popularization.

Delightful “disco” of Zhuang

The beauty and uniqueness of Zhuang nationality lie not only in their excellence singing but also their dancing. You can get a glimpse of how the Zhuang people enjoy their lives by dancing jubilantly.

Most of the Zhuang dances are centered on showing their own working， love and life with genuine feelings. Bamboo-Pole Dance is a highlight for the Zhuang people on the March 3rd Festival and usually consists of four parts， namely “rice-transplanting”， “water-lifting by using waterwheels”， “reaping and thrashing” and “rice husking”， depicting the main working scenes of the farmers. In accordance with the rhythm from the beating of gongs and drums， the dancers would dance and jump deftly along with the opening and closing of the bamboo-poles.

When visitors arrive at the village， all the villagers， regardless of men or women， old or young， meet at the entrance of the village to welcome them. Then， after the guests are ushered into the village slowly， villagers would gather together and invite visitors to join in the Bamboo-Pole Dance. If your ankles were caught in the bamboo poles， you would be eliminated from the game. Besides， the auspicious meaning behind this fascinating dance signifies successes both in career and life.

A feast of dazzling beauty

The Zhuang people take paddy rice as the staple food and they are good at making glutinous food， among which Five-colored Glutinous Rice is a delicacy on festive occasions. On the March 3rd Festival， Zhuang people cook Five-colored Glutinous Rice and painted eggs to have a hospitable treat for their relatives and good friends， for they believe rice is good for health and painted egg is seen as the best keepsake of love.

The Five-colored Glutinous Rice served during the March 3rd Festival is dyed with the extract of plants of different colors （usually red， yellow， blue， purple and white）. It is said that someone who eats the Five-colored Glutinous Rice can be protected from illness and disasters.

Behind the painted eggs served on March 3rd Festival， there was a tale which reflected the living condition of the people lived even earlier. During the Three Kingdoms Period （220-280）， Hua Tuo， a well-know surgeon， went to collect traditional Chinese medicines one day. Suddenly rain fell， he entered an elderly person’s house. Hua found the person was suffering from pain and then he boiled eggs with trigonotis peduncularis. After eating three eggs， the elderly person was healed. In memory of Hua Tuo， the custom has come down through the years.

During this festival， there is an activity about the painted eggs. If a boy has his eye on a girl， he can take a painted egg to touch the painted egg held on the young girl’s hand. If the girl is also coming on to the boy， she will let him touch her painted eggs. Once the egg shells are broken， they will eat the painted eggs together and start a romantic relationship.