Festivals & Events of Xi'an
Ancestor Worship in Mausoleum of the Huang Emperor
On April 4 (leap years) or April 5 (other years) of the Gregorian calendar is the traditional Chinese Pure Bright Festival (also Tomb Sweeping Day or Qingming Festival). On this day the Chinese people go out to sweep their ancestors' tombs in the mountains, fields, or cemeteries. And in Xian, many people from the country or overseas Chinese from different countries get together to pay homage at the Mausoleum of the Huang Emperor. Yellow Emperor is the common ancestor of the Han nationality (Han nationality with the most population in china more than one billion), he was buried in this Mausoleum after his death a long time ago. In every Pure Bright Festival, a grand fete ceremony is held in front of the great Mausoleum of the Huang Emperor, an elegiac address is delivered by an emcee, and plenty of sacrifices are offered on the altar, firecrackers are fired and pine trees are planted beside the mausoleum. People burn joss-sticks in front of it and strains of music accompanied by drumbeats rend the air impressively. The openings and closings are all accomplished with majestic rituality.
Xian Art Festival of Ancient Culture
Always a favorite with foreigners, beautiful Xi'an adds some fine traditional dance, music, song and opera to its formidable list of attractions for this festival. The Ancient Culture Festival celebrates traditions that originated back in the mists of the past 4000 years - at the very dawn of Chinese civilization.
Featuring a lantern show on the Ming-period city walls during the evening, the festival provides plenty of folk-culture entertainment during the day. Xi'an has ten different forms of local opera for a start! Drum dancing, art, music and dance are all on the menu, along with some tasty snacks. This event began in 1986, showing a new tolerance of ethnic minorities by the Chinese Communist Party, somewhat tempered by the new respect for tourist dollars!
Mt. Hua China International Rock-climbing
Mt. Huashan is one of the Five Sacred Mountains in China. It has ever been known as the first peculiar and precipitous Mountain under heaven from time immemorial. In these years, it has become the Rock-climbers' Mekka for its excellent climbing conditions. Since nature endows it with vagarious and uncanny creation, Mt. Hua is a really ideal paradise for mountaineers. It provides them a spiritual fairyland to challenge their physical endurance. And every September, an international rock climbing is held on Mt. Hua. At this spell, many top climbers from the world swarm here to show their skills.
Xian City wall International Marathon
Xi'an City Wall International Marathon of China Silk Road is a new special tourism project sponsored by Xi'an Tourism Administration. The event is held on top of the ancient city wall in November. It includes 5km, 10km, men and women halfway races, of which the participants are different age groups from the foreign visitors, the delegates of its sister cities, the groups from the world and the residents of Xi'an. Among them, the local residents are the main participants. This event has embodied its substantial purpose to communicate with the international community for Xi'an. Running on the top of the ancient city wall, you will have a special feeling at that moment.
Xian International Calligraphy Annual Meeting
Calligraphy is an old and miraculous art in China, since the Chinese characters are so different from the writing system of the other languages when they are written on rice paper, they look like both characters and pictures. Calligraphy is a kind of very beautiful and creative art, which is difficult to learn and write but enjoys a special favor in China and other countries. In order to enhance the exchange of calligraphy in the world, China has held some calligraphy meetings since the PRC was founded in 1949. Among them, the Xi'an International Calligraphy Annual Meeting is the most famous one.
It is held annually in the last week of March in Xi'an and enjoys a worldwide name for its many activities. During the meeting days the following activities are held: Large opening ceremony, inscription on a hundred-meter scroll of calligraphy, pen association of famous calligraphers from home and abroad, Calligraphy exhibition, sodality of calligraphers from home and abroad, the ceremony of undraping the monument of annual meeting, auction of paintings and calligraphies, visit of the Forest of Steles in Xi'an and exhibition sales of the four treasures in the study (writing brush, ink stick, paper, and inkstone). If you take an interest in Chinese calligraphy, please go and participate in the annual meeting.
Xi'an Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Figures & Pomegranate Festival
The Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Figures & Pomegranate Festival are held in Lintong County (nearby Xi'an) in mid-September (one week). The main activities of the festival are a visit to Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Figures, a visit to Huaqing Hot Springs, a visit to a fruit taste in the 10,000mu (666.7hectare) pomegranate orchard, a traditional pomegranate festival celebration, and lighting fires ceremony on beacon towers on Mount Li, etc.
Lintong County is the home of the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Figures and the nationwide-famous home of pomegranate. When the clear and refreshing fall is here, the red pomegranates become the eye-catchers in the sun. Anyone who passes here is usually arrested by the mouthwatering fruits, they make Mt. Lishan become more enchanting. The visitors whether from this country or other countries are usually lingering here without any thought to leaving when they first set foot here. The festival has made a perfect combination of the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Figures with the Pomegranate fruits, which content the visitors with great spiritual and material enjoyment.
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