‍The Panwang Festival was celebrated on November 15th，2016, which is a tradition festival of Yao ethnic group in County Mangshan, Hunan Province. Panwang is the God in Yao’s mythology, Yao people celebrate the birthday of Panwang during the festival and pray for harvest and happiness. It was determined in 1984 that Panwang Festival to be celebrated on October 16th in Chinese lunar calendar each year.‍

The ceremony in the Panwang Festival is mysterious which includes the Mangshan Drum, prayers and the sacrificial ceremony and the traditional feast.

County Mangshan is in the south of County Zhangyi, which has a population of 9,018, and 6% of them are Yao people. The Panwang Festival has been celebrated by all the Yao people and has been opened to tourists now. The Panwang Festival has expressed the characteristic and history of the Yao ethnic group, the traditional lives and customs of Yao people. The Panwang Festival in County Mangshan had been officially listed in the province-level Intangible Cultural Heritage in Hunan Province since 2012.

Time: 2016-11-20

Source: www.wenming.cn