Miao Ethnic Group's Feb 15 Tiaochang Festival in Duxi

The Miao ethnic group's Tiaochang Festival, held on Feb 15, can be traced back to pre-Qin times (in other words, before 221 BC). On that day each year, the Miao leaders led people in a festival for sacrifice to heaven, earth, and ancestors. The custom was suspended from time to time in the Qin, Han, Ming, Qing and other dynasties due to the devastation of war, exile, and poverty. In 1643, at the end of the Ming dynasty, the festival was definitively resumed when the Miao leader Yao Zhaibao held an activity to celebrate the marriage of his daughter, A Zhaili. The activity was held in all three living places of his three children in turn, in accordance with the rule: the eldest son Yao Zhaili held it for three consecutive years, the second eldest son Zou Zhaili for two consecutive years, and the youngest daughter A Zhaili for 1 year. The festival lasts for 3 days in Duxi, Shitouzhai and Gaozhai -- on Feb 14 for caichang (stamp/tread on the field/venue, lit.), Feb 15 for the official launch, and Feb 16 for the end. Over the past four centuries, this ancient Tiaochang Festival has been passed on from generation to generation in line with customary rules.

Caichang on Feb 14 includes activities in the morning of "sacrifice to ancestor", "worship bamboo god", "flag raising sacrifice", "flag presenting"; "flag changing, flag raising, Caichang Dance"; in the afternoon the activities are "flagpole display and evening show". Venues include the residence of the Miao's leaders, Zhushan and Changba.

The official launch on Feb 15 includes sacrificial ceremonies in the morning, gathering of relatives and friends in the afternoon; and an evening show.

For the official ending on Feb 16 people gather at the dance venue from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the morning. The Miao leaders offer sacrifices to ancestors and led the Miao youngsters perform the caichang dance around the sacrificial stage. After the salute, music is performed and the flag is lowered, and firecrackers are set off to put an end to the activity. At this point, the three-day Tiaocang Festival is successfully concluded.

The Miao Tiaochang Festival is held in Cuishupo, Duxi, Dulaxiang, Baiyun District, and Guiyang City, adjacent to the Guiyang National Changpoling Forest Park. Tiaochang underwent three venue changes in nearly four centuries (from the end of the Ming Dynasty in 1643 to the present), moving from the then Duxi to Songshan, Miaoba and Duxi's Cuishupo.

In the Miao Tiaochang Festival, accompanied by Wudanggaozhai and Shitouzhai, dances last three years and then cease for three, replaced by Shitouzhai's dances for two consecutive years and Gaozhai for one. As long as the festival is held, Miao people around Guiyang will join in to celebrate, to cherish the past, and to deepen friendship. Due to the Miao people's passion and the government's support, the influence and scale of the festival has been increasing year by year, reaching an all-time high in 2012, with more than 40,000 participants. Its value can be shown in three ways: 

First, it has developed into a living museum for excavating, protecting, inheriting and displaying the traditional Miao culture in the central city of the provincial capital.

Second, the venue, next to the Guiyang National Changpoling Forest Park, has geographical advantages and integrates tourism, leisure, and sightseeing. It plays a positive role in further promoting the economic and cultural growth of ethnic villages.

Third, with the government's support the Miao people have preserved their passion, national unity, village harmony, fixed venue, clear property rights, clear administration, and eternal inheritance.