The 2017 Guangzhou Qiqiao Cultural Festival, an event celebrating Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day), which falls on the seventh day of the seventh month in lunar calendar, will be held in Zhucun village in Guangzhou from Aug 24 to 29.

Qiqiao in English means praying for handicraft skills. On Qixi Festival, girls dress in new clothes and pray for handicraft skills in a tradition that dates back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220).

Zhucun village of Tianhe district, Guangzhou has a long tradition of celebrating Qiqiao Festival with the Zhucun Qiqiao Festival added on the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritages in 2011.  

The 2017 Guangzhou Qiqiao Cultural Festival will be held in Zhucun village, Guangzhou on Aug 24. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]   

The six-day event will feature a wide range of folk activities including a handicraft skills competition, village fair, a traditional coming-of-age ceremony (a ceremony to celebrate girls becoming women), cultural performances, a photo exhibition and a youth blind date party.

Schedule of the festival:

Aug 24: Opening ceremony of 2017 Guangzhou Qiqiao Festival and cultural performances

Venue: Zhucun village of Tianhe District, Guangzhou

Aug 24-29: Traditional Qixi folk activities, handicraft skills competition, village fair

Venue: Zhucun village of Tianhe District, Canton Tower

Aug 25: Jiji ceremony

Venue: Canton Tower

Aug 25-29: Photo exhibition on inheritors of Zhucun Village Qiqiao Festival

Venue: Canton Tower

Aug 27: Youth blind date party

Venue: Haixinsha Island and the Red Boat on the Pearl River.

A competition of works by craftspeople in Guangzhou as organized in the Canton Tower last year. [Photo by Liu Liqin /Southcn.com]