Brief Introduction

China is a large country with 55 ethnic minorities. Because of the differences in living environments, history and customs, characteristic festivals are held by the ethnic minorities besides the Spring Festival , and Mid-autumn Festival that the Han Chinese celebrate. All these traditional ethnic minority festivals are regarded as indispensable components of the minorities' customs.

It is estimated that more than 1,200 of the 1,700 Chinese festivals are ethnic minorities' festivals. Each festival there is based on its own origin or legend, and a single festival can also have different origins. Some of these festivals are related to religions and beliefs, such as the Corban Festival and Kaizhai Festival, whereas others are linked to entertainment activities, such as the Nadam Fair of Mongolia and the Tibetan New Year.

Some of the ethnic minority festivals are so grand and influential that they attract spectators from far away. The following are some of the representative festivals:

Festival		Ethnic Minority	Date
Water-Splashing Festival		Dai	April 14th to 16th
Torch Festival		Yi, Bai, Naxi, etc.	24th to 26th day of the sixth lunar month
Knife-Pole Festival		Lisu	2nd day of the second lunar month
Bullfight Festival		Miao	25th day of the first lunar month
Adult Ceremony		Jino	The day girls turn 15 years old and boys 16 years old
March Fair		Bai, Yi, Hui, Zang, etc	15th to 21st day of the third lunar month
Nadam Fair		Mongolian	July or August
Kaizhai Festival		Hui, Uygur, Kazak, etc.	The beginning of the tenth month on the Islamic calendar
Corban Festival		Hui, Uygur, Kazak, etc.	The tenth day of the twelfth month on the Islamic calendar

More Ethnic Minority Festivals