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Golden Week, 1–7 October: trains, hotels and Jade Dragon tickets sell out. If you can, start your trip after 8 October. Updated 25 Sep

Decorated boats racing on the river during the Dai New Year

Festivals & seasons

Yunnan’s calendar

Water fights for the Dai New Year, faces smeared black for luck in Mojiang, torch-lit nights with the Yi — plus the seasons locals plan around. Pick your month.

January

Gedong Festival at Songzanlin Monastery

January · Tibetan

Gedong Festival at Songzanlin Monastery 松赞林寺格冬节

Next: About 3–6 Jan 2027 (masked dances 6 Jan); confirm locally

Monks at Songzanlin, the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan, hold several days of prayers that end with cham, a day of masked dances in the monastery courtyard. Dancers in deity and animal masks act out the defeat of harmful forces before the new year, to the sound of long horns, drums and cymbals.

How to join: Visitors can watch the dances at Songzanlin 松赞林寺, about 5 km north of Shangri-La. Arrive early for a spot near the courtyard, and dress for freezing mornings well above 3,000 m.

Etiquette: Walk clockwise around halls and stupas, never step into the dance space, and skip flash. Ask monks before taking close-up photos.

Where: Diqing

February

Spring Festival (Lunar New Year)

February · Nationwide

Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) 春节

Next: 6 Feb 2027

China's biggest holiday. In the run-up, Kunming's Dounan Flower Market 斗南花市 sells armfuls of blooms for the home, families gather on New Year's Eve for a reunion dinner, and in the first days of the year temples such as Yuantong Temple 圆通寺 fill with people burning incense for luck. Warm Xishuangbanna and the old towns of Dali and Lijiang are favorite holiday escapes for families from across China.

How to join: Visit a temple on the first or second morning of the year, walk a flower market, or ask to share a family's reunion dinner. Book trains and rooms well ahead: this is the busiest travel period of the year and prices climb sharply.

Etiquette: Wish people 'xin nian kuai le' (Happy New Year) and avoid talk of death or illness. Many small restaurants and shops close for the first three days.

Where: Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Xishuangbanna

February · Tibetan

Losar, the Tibetan New Year 藏历新年

Next: 7 Feb 2027

Tibetan families in Shangri-La and Deqin clean their homes, make offerings and hang new prayer flags, then spend the first days of the year visiting relatives, monasteries and sacred sites. Many Diqing households also keep the Chinese Spring Festival, so the holiday mood lasts for weeks.

How to join: Walk the pilgrim circuit around Songzanlin Monastery 松赞林寺, or join the evening circle dancing on the square in Dukezong Old Town 独克宗古城 when it's on. Some family guesthouses close, so book ahead.

Etiquette: Go clockwise around monasteries, stupas and prayer wheels. Don't touch offerings, and ask before photographing anyone at prayer.

Where: Diqing

February · Lisu

Lisu Bathing Fair at Denggeng 登埂澡塘会

Next: 7–11 Feb 2027

For more than two centuries Lisu families from up and down the canyon have gathered at the Denggeng hot springs 登埂澡塘 north of Liuku in the first days of the lunar year, bathing to wash away the old year's ills and camping by the river between soaks, with singing contests and food stalls.

How to join: Come by day from Liuku, where rooms are easier to find, and bring swimwear and a towel. The hidden Nujiang Canyon route passes the springs on Day 1.

Etiquette: Wear swimwear, keep to the public pools, and ask before photographing anyone in the water.

Where: Nujiang

Canola blossom season

February · Season

Canola blossom season 罗平油菜花

Next: About mid-Feb to mid-Mar 2027

Around Luoping in eastern Yunnan, canola fields fill the valleys between karst peaks with yellow, and people plan whole trips around the bloom. The classic views are the Golden Rooster Peaks 金鸡峰丛 and the spiraling Niujie Snail-Shell Terraces 牛街螺丝田; in the west, Jietou 界头 near Tengchong flowers at about the same time.

How to join: Check bloom reports before you go, since timing shifts with the weather. Stay in Luoping town, which has the most hotels (only regular trains stop there, so most visitors come by road, about 3 hours from Kunming), or at a farmstay in Jinji village 金鸡村 under the peaks, and visit Niujie in the afternoon, when the sun lights the terraces.

Etiquette: These are working farms: stay on paths and field edges, and don't trample the crop for photos.

Where: Qujing, Baoshan

Munao Zongge

February · Jingpo

Munao Zongge 目瑙纵歌

Next: About 19–21 Feb 2027 (main day 20 Feb); announced locally

The Jingpo people's great dance festival. Thousands of dancers in silver-studded costumes follow ritual leaders in tall feathered headdresses, winding in long lines around the painted Munao posts to drums and gongs, in patterns said to recall the Jingpo's ancient migrations. Mangshi hosts the biggest gathering, and towns such as Yingjiang and Longchuan hold their own.

How to join: The main venue is the China Dehong Jingpo International Munao Zongge Cultural Park 中国德宏景颇族国际目瑙纵歌文化园 in Mangshi. Visitors are welcome to fall in at the back of a dance line once it moves; roads around the park are controlled on festival days, so plan to walk in.

Etiquette: Never cut across the lines or walk through the middle while the dance is on, and ask before photographing the leaders up close.

Where: Dehong

February · Yi

Yi Costume Festival at Zhiju 直苴赛装节

Next: 20 Feb 2027

In Zhiju village 直苴村 in Yongren county, in the far north of Chuxiong, Yi women spend the year embroidering, and on the Lantern Festival they parade their finest layered costumes group by group, from elders to children, on what locals call the world's oldest village catwalk. A bimo priest's offering opens the day.

How to join: Zhiju is in Zhonghe town, Yongren county, a long drive north of Chuxiong city, so go with a driver and arrive by mid-morning. Check the county's announcement for the program first.

Etiquette: Ask before close-up photos, and don't touch embroidered pieces without permission.

Where: Chuxiong

March

Spring tea season

March · Season

Spring tea season 春茶季

Next: Mar–Apr 2027

The first spring flush is the most prized tea of the year in Yunnan's Pu'er country. In the UNESCO-listed old tea forests of Jingmai Mountain 景迈山, around Menghai in Xishuangbanna and at Bingdao 冰岛 in Lincang, families pick from old trees in the morning, then wilt, pan-fire, roll and sun-dry the leaves by hand.

How to join: Stay in a Jingmai village such as Wengji 翁基 (Bulang) or Nuogan 糯干 (Dai) and ask your host whether you can join a morning's picking and watch the leaves being processed.

Etiquette: Only pick where your host shows you, since every tree belongs to a family. Tasting is part of any visit; buying is never obligatory.

Where: Pu'er, Xishuangbanna, Lincang

March · Naxi

Sanduo Festival 三朵节

Next: 15 Mar 2027

The Naxi honor Sanduo, their protector god and the spirit of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, with offerings, Dongba priests chanting and big circle dances. Recent editions have opened with a torch relay carrying a sacred flame from Baisha to the main celebration in Lijiang's new town.

How to join: Join the circle dancing at the main public celebration in Lijiang's new town, where anyone can link arms (ask your hotel for that year's venue), or visit Sanduo's own temple, the Beiyue Temple 北岳庙 near Baisha, to see families making offerings.

Etiquette: Let worshippers go first at the temple and keep clear of the space where Dongba priests are chanting.

Where: Lijiang

April

Rhododendron season

April · Season

Rhododendron season 杜鹃花季

Next: Apr–Jun 2027

Yunnan has hundreds of rhododendron species, and in spring whole hillsides turn pink, red and white. The bloom climbs with altitude: Zixi Mountain 紫溪山 near Chuxiong flowers from April, the upper slopes of Cangshan above Dali follow, and the meadows and forests around Shangri-La, including Pudacuo National Park 普达措, peak from late May into June.

How to join: Walk rather than just stopping at a viewpoint: the Cangshan cable car takes you up to the high slopes, and the Pudacuo boardwalks pass through rhododendron forest. Bring rain gear, as the rainy season starts in June.

Etiquette: Don't pick flowers or break branches.

Where: Diqing, Dali, Chuxiong

Zhuang Third of the Third

April · Zhuang

Zhuang Third of the Third 壮族三月三

Next: 9 Apr 2027

The Zhuang's spring festival honors ancestors and the new season with call-and-response singing, bronze drums, five-color sticky rice and shared meals. In Wenshan it is kept in Zhuang villages around Guangnan 广南, including Bamei 坝美, and in Funing 富宁.

How to join: County towns often hold public singing contests and markets on the day. For a village celebration, go with a guide or host who knows the families.

Etiquette: Accept the five-color rice when it is offered, and join the listening crowd rather than pushing to the front to film.

Where: Wenshan

Water-Splashing Festival

April · Dai

Water-Splashing Festival 泼水节

Next: 13–15 Apr 2027 (Xishuangbanna); Dehong announced locally

The Dai New Year is three days of ceremony that end in a town-wide water fight. In Jinghong the first day brings dragon-boat races on the Lancang (Mekong) River, the second a riverside market and a costumed parade, and on the last morning water is ritually drawn from the river before the splashing begins. Mangshi and Ruili in Dehong hold their own programs in mid-April, on dates announced locally each year.

How to join: In Jinghong, watch the boat races from the riverbank on the 13th, then on the 15th head for Water-Splashing Square 泼水广场 and the streets around it from late morning with a bucket or water pistol. Book rooms weeks ahead, as Jinghong prices rise for the festival. With children: the main splashing on the 15th soaks everyone, and the crowd around Water-Splashing Square gets very dense, so younger children may do better on a quieter side street or at a hotel's own splashing. Dress them in quick-dry clothes and strap sandals, agree a meeting point, and put a card with your phone number and hotel name in Chinese in each child's pocket. Can't make 13–15 April? The Dai Ethnic Park 傣族园 in Ganlanba stages splashing every day.

Etiquette: Water here is a blessing, so take a soaking with a smile, but don't splash monks, the elderly or anyone clearly not playing. Carry your phone and passport in a waterproof pouch.

Where: Xishuangbanna, Dehong

Jacaranda season in Kunming

April · Season

Jacaranda season in Kunming 昆明蓝花楹

Next: Late Apr–May 2027

Each spring Kunming's jacarandas flower purple-blue, and Jiaochang Middle Road 教场中路, lined with them, becomes the most photographed street in the city. The bloom overlaps the May Day holiday, and many visitors time their Kunming stops around it.

How to join: Walk the road at 7–8 am on a weekday, before the photographers arrive.

Etiquette: It's a working street with traffic and residents: stay on the sidewalk and don't block doorways or driveways for photos.

Where: Kunming

Third Month Fair

April · Bai

Third Month Fair 大理三月街

Next: 21–27 Apr 2027

A market fair with more than a thousand years of history, held on the slopes below Cangshan just west of Dali Old Town. For a week, stalls sell herbs, tea, tools and crafts, alongside horse races, Bai and Yi song and dance and plenty of street food.

How to join: Walk up from the old town's west side to the Third Month Street area and the racecourse; the opening ceremony is on the first morning and the market runs all day. In 2027 it ends just before the May Day holiday; mornings are the calmest time.

Etiquette: Watch your bags in the crowds, and ask before photographing traders or performers in costume.

Where: Dali

April · Nu

Nu Fairy Festival 仙女节

Next: 21 Apr 2027

In Bingzhongluo 丙中洛, at the northern end of the Nu River canyon, the Nu people honor a legendary fairy linked to a cave above the valley with flowers and offerings, followed by singing, dancing and shared food. It is also called the Flower Festival.

How to join: Ask your Bingzhongluo guesthouse where the gathering is held that year; visitors who come quietly are usually welcome at the singing and dancing.

Etiquette: Stay back from the rituals unless invited, and bring fruit or flowers if you join a family.

Where: Nujiang

May

Mojiang Black-Face Festival and Twins Festival

May · Hani

Mojiang Black-Face Festival and Twins Festival 墨江摸你黑 · 双胞节

Next: Usually 1–5 May 2027; announced locally

Mojiang, a Hani county town on the Tropic of Cancer, turns its Sun Square into a mass face-smearing party: everyone paints everyone else with a black paste of coffee powder and food-grade plant charcoal, a custom from Hani weddings meant to rub off bad luck. It runs alongside the International Twins Festival, when pairs of twins from across China and abroad parade through town, with bonfire dancing and a long-street banquet.

How to join: The smearing sessions in Sun Square 太阳广场 are free, and you only need to walk in; the twins parade (2–3 May in 2026) is free to watch. Take the high-speed train to Mojiang station, and book a room weeks ahead or stay in Tongguan 通关, about 40 minutes away.

Etiquette: Wear old clothes and cover your hair, because nobody leaves clean. Keep the paste out of people's eyes, and use the showers and bag storage set up near the square.

Where: Pu'er

May · Wa

Wa Moni Hei Carnival 沧源司岗里摸你黑狂欢节

Next: Usually around 1–3 May 2027; announced locally

In Cangyuan, the Wa heartland on the Myanmar border, hosts and visitors smear each other with a black paste made from natural ingredients, as a blessing. The smearing sessions run to the beat of drums, with Wa rituals, a parade, bonfire singing and concerts around them.

How to join: The sessions take place on the festival square in Cangyuan town 沧源县城; walk in and you'll be painted within minutes. Cangyuan has its own airport, and rooms fill early.

Etiquette: Wear old dark clothes, keep the paste away from eyes and cameras, and smear gently. Ask before photographing people during rituals.

Where: Lincang

May · Bai

Rao San Ling 绕三灵

Next: 28–30 May 2027

For three days, groups of Bai villagers in their best clothes, many of them older women, walk between temples along the west shore of Erhai, singing, dancing and playing drums and the bawang whip as they go. It is a pilgrimage and a spring outing in one, and one of the Bai customs least changed for tourism.

How to join: Watch from the villages along the road north of Dali Old Town, especially around Qingdong 庆洞 near Xizhou, where the groups gather at the Shengyuan Temple 圣源寺 on the first day. With a local guide you can walk a stretch with a group.

Etiquette: It's a religious event: ask before photographing, don't push into the dance circles, and dress modestly at the temples.

Where: Dali

June

Lotus season at Puzhehei

June · Season

Lotus season at Puzhehei 普者黑荷花季

Next: Jun–Aug 2027 (best in Jul)

In summer Puzhehei's karst hills rise from lakes covered in lotus, and with summer days mostly in the mid-20s °C it is where families come to escape the heat. You drift by boat along channels between the flowers and eat lotus-leaf dishes in Yi villages.

How to join: Stay in Xianrendong village 仙人洞村, where guesthouses and food are easy, and take a boat out early before the midday heat. Climb Qinglong Mountain 青龙山 for sunrise or sunset over the lakes.

Etiquette: Don't pick lotus flowers or seed pods from the lakes, and bring insect repellent.

Where: Wenshan

Wild mushroom season

June · Season

Wild mushroom season 野生菌季

Next: Jun–Sep 2027 (peak Jul–Aug)

When the summer rains arrive, the whole province turns to wild mushrooms: markets fill with porcini, termite mushrooms, chanterelles and matsutake, and hotpot restaurants build their menus around them. Kunming's Mushuihua Wild Mushroom Market 木水花野生菌交易市场 shows the full range, Nanhua county in Chuxiong is famous for its mushroom trade, and Shangri-La is matsutake country.

How to join: Order a wild-mushroom hotpot at a busy, established restaurant and wait the full cooking time the staff give you before eating. For a foraging walk, go with a local guide.

Etiquette: Never eat mushrooms you or a stranger picked unless an experienced local picker has checked them and a restaurant cooks them, and make sure jianshouqing 见手青 is cooked through: undercooked, it causes hallucinations and puts people in hospital every summer.

Where: Kunming, Chuxiong, Lijiang, Diqing

Shangri-La Horse Racing Festival

June · Tibetan

Shangri-La Horse Racing Festival 香格里拉赛马节

Next: Usually starts on the Dragon Boat Festival, 9 Jun 2027; announced locally

Riders from across Diqing race Tibetan horses and show off tricks such as leaning from the saddle at full gallop to scoop scarves off the ground. Around the races there are guozhuang circle dances, food and craft stalls, and families picnicking in tents; in 2026 the four-day event was held at the Shangri-La Ethnic Sports Center 香格里拉民族体育中心.

How to join: Spectator areas are open to the public. Arrive in the morning for the main races with sun protection and a warm layer, since you're at about 3,200 m, and check the venue with your hotel each year.

Etiquette: Stay behind the barriers, keep drones grounded near the horses, and ask before photographing riders and families.

Where: Diqing

July

Torch Festival

July · Yi, Bai and Naxi

Torch Festival 火把节

Next: 27 Jul 2027; events run several days

The biggest night of the Yi year: torches lit from a ceremonial fire are carried around fields and villages to drive off pests and bad luck, then piled into bonfires for dancing late into the night. Chuxiong runs the largest program at the Yi Ten-Month Solar Calendar Culture Park 彝族十月太阳历文化园 and Yi Ancient Town 彝人古镇, the Sani celebrate at the Stone Forest with wrestling and bullfights, Bai villages around Dali raise tall decorated torches a day later, and near Puzhehei the festivities become the Flower Face Festival 花脸节.

How to join: Base yourself in Chuxiong, where the opening ceremony and nightly bonfire dancing are open to everyone, or visit a village celebration with a local guide. Anyone can join the circle dances: take the hands on either side and follow the steps.

Etiquette: People toss pine-resin powder onto torches to make them flare as a blessing, so wear cotton rather than synthetics and tie back long hair. Book Chuxiong rooms early.

Where: Chuxiong, Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Honghe, Wenshan

August

Mountain-Circling Festival at Lugu Lake

August · Mosuo

Mountain-Circling Festival at Lugu Lake 转山节

Next: 26 Aug 2027

The Mosuo honor Gemu, the goddess of the mountain above Lugu Lake's north shore, by walking around its foot, burning juniper at shrines and hanging prayer flags. The rest of the day is for picnics, horse racing, singing and circle dancing.

How to join: Be at Gemu Mountain 格姆女神山 early in the morning, when families set out; visitors are welcome to walk with them and join the dancing later. Stay in Lige 里格 or Daluoshui 大落水村.

Etiquette: Walk clockwise with everyone else, don't step over incense or offerings, and ask before photographing women in traditional dress.

Where: Lijiang

Shibaoshan Song Festival

August · Bai

Shibaoshan Song Festival 石宝山歌会

Next: 28 Aug–1 Sep 2027

Bai singers from Jianchuan and beyond gather on Shibao Mountain near Shaxi, known for its Nanzhao-era grottoes, to trade improvised songs to the three-stringed sanxian, often through the night. Traditionally it was also a place to court a sweetheart.

How to join: Base yourself in Shaxi 沙溪, a short drive away, and go up in the evening when the singing starts. Hire a driver, as public transport is limited.

Etiquette: Keep quiet near singers in the middle of an exchange, and ask before recording.

Where: Dali

October

Autumn colors around Shangri-La

October · Season

Autumn colors around Shangri-La 香格里拉秋色

Now: About Oct–early Nov 2026About Oct–early Nov 2027

In October the birches and larches of the Shangri-La plateau turn yellow and red against dark firs, the grassland around Napa Lake 纳帕海 fades to gold, and skies clear after the rains. It is also when Pudacuo National Park, which is often called poor value in winter, is most worth its ticket.

How to join: Walk the Pudacuo boardwalks around Shudu Lake 属都湖 in the morning and circle Napa Lake in the afternoon. Nights drop below freezing, so pack warm layers.

Etiquette: Stay on the boardwalks, which protect fragile wetland, and avoid the National Day holiday (1–7 October), the busiest week of the year.

Where: Diqing

November

November · Hani

Hani Long-Street Banquet 哈尼长街宴

Next: Usually Nov 2026; announced locallyUsually Nov 2027; announced locally

The Hani New Year begins in the tenth lunar month, once the rice is in. Each household carries dishes out to low tables set end to end down the village street, and the whole community eats together: sticky rice, rice-field fish, cured meat and rice wine, followed by songs and toasts. In Yuanyang and Honghe counties some banquets run to hundreds of tables.

How to join: Village banquets welcome guests who come with a local host; the larger county-town banquets are public events, and their dates are often confirmed only a few weeks ahead. Pair it with the terraces around Yuanyang, which start to fill with water around the same time.

Etiquette: Take at least a sip when rice wine is offered, toast the elders first, and wait for your hosts to start eating.

Where: Honghe

Winter gulls in Kunming

November · Season

Winter gulls in Kunming 昆明红嘴鸥

Next: About Nov 2026 to Mar 2027About Nov 2027 to Mar 2028

Every winter since the mid-1980s, tens of thousands of black-headed gulls from Siberia have come to Kunming, and feeding them is a city ritual. The best places are Haigeng Dam 海埂大坝 on Dianchi Lake, with the Western Hills behind, and Green Lake 翠湖 in the old town.

How to join: At Haigeng Dam, arrive around 8 am, when the gulls feed hardest; by midday many have scattered. A taxi from the center is the easiest way there. Buy the gull feed sold on site rather than bringing bread.

Etiquette: Toss food into the air or onto the water instead of holding it out, and don't chase the flocks for photos.

Where: Kunming

Black-necked cranes

November · Season

Black-necked cranes 黑颈鹤越冬

Next: About Nov 2026 to Mar 2027About Nov 2027 to Mar 2028

The black-necked crane, the only crane that lives on high plateaus, breeds in Tibet and Qinghai and winters in Yunnan's highland wetlands. Dashanbao 大山包 in Zhaotong, at about 3,200 m, is the best-known site, with flocks feeding and flying around Dahaizi Lake; Napa Lake 纳帕海 outside Shangri-La also has a wintering flock.

How to join: At Dashanbao, the Dahaizi 大海子 crane area is ticketed separately from the Jigong Mountain cloud-sea viewpoint. Get there before the 4 pm rush: the light is best from 3 to 6 pm, and the cranes often take off in the late afternoon.

Etiquette: Keep your voice down in the viewing gallery, stay on paths and never fly a drone near the birds. Bring a down jacket, hat and gloves.

Where: Zhaotong, Diqing

November · Season

Golden ginkgo season 银杏季

Next: Mid-Nov to mid-Dec 2026Mid-Nov to mid-Dec 2027

Late autumn turns Yunnan's ginkgo trees gold. Jiangdong Ginkgo Village 江东银杏村, north of Tengchong, has thousands of old trees growing among its houses, and in Kunming the ginkgo avenue on Yunnan University's Donglu campus 云南大学东陆校区 is a favorite walk past Republican-era buildings.

How to join: Jiangdong is about 1–1.5 hours' drive north of Tengchong; go in the late afternoon when the light is warm. In Kunming, combine the campus with a walk around Green Lake next door.

Etiquette: Many of Jiangdong's trees stand in family courtyards, so ask before walking in, and don't shake branches to bring down leaves.

Where: Baoshan, Kunming

Flooded rice terraces at Yuanyang

November · Season

Flooded rice terraces at Yuanyang 元阳梯田灌水季

Next: About late Nov 2026 to Apr 2027 (best Jan–Mar)About late Nov 2027 to Apr 2028

After the harvest the Hani flood their terraces, and for a few months these 1,300-year-old hillside fields mirror the sunrise and sunset. They look best on the first clear morning after rain: Duoyishu 多依树 is the sunrise spot, Bada 坝达 and Laohuzui 老虎嘴 face the sunset, and the free Hadanpu 哈单普 viewpoint is arguably the most beautiful of all.

How to join: Stay at least two nights near Duoyishu to get two chances at clear weather. Duoyishu, Bada and Laohuzui share one combined ticket; Hadanpu and Laoyingzui 老鹰嘴 are free.

Etiquette: The terraces are working farms: don't walk on the dikes unless a path is marked, and pay villagers who charge for parking.

Where: Honghe

Cherry blossom season

November · Season

Cherry blossom season 樱花季

Next: Winter cherries late Nov–mid Dec 2026Spring cherries Feb–Mar 2027; winter cherries late Nov–mid Dec 2027

Yunnan has two cherry seasons. From late November to mid-December pink winter cherries flower among the tea terraces of the Cherry Blossom Valley on Wuliang Mountain 无量山樱花谷 in Nanjian, south of Dali; from February into March spring cherries take over Kunming, above all on Yuantong Hill 圆通山, home of the city zoo.

How to join: Wuliang Mountain is a long day from Dali with a driver, so an overnight nearby is easier. Yuantong Hill is a short walk from Green Lake; go on a weekday morning.

Etiquette: Don't shake branches or climb trees for photos, and on Wuliang Mountain keep off the tea bushes, which are someone's harvest.

Where: Dali, Kunming

December

December · Lisu

Kuoshi, the Lisu New Year 阔时节

Next: 20–22 Dec 202620–22 Dec 2027

Kuoshi means 'new year' in Lisu, and since 1990 Nujiang prefecture has celebrated it on 20 December. Towns and villages along the Nu River canyon hold crossbow shooting, singing contests, swings and dancing, and families feast on pork, sticky-rice cakes and home-brewed liquor.

How to join: Liuku 六库, the prefecture seat, and county towns such as Fugong 福贡 hold public events; in villages, go with a local guide who can introduce you. December is dry, and the river runs clear.

Etiquette: If you're offered 'same-heart' liquor, drunk by two people from one cup side by side, a small sip is fine. Ask before photographing inside homes.

Where: Nujiang

Each card shows the next date first. Lunar-calendar festivals move each year, and local authorities sometimes shift events — check before you book.