From April 11 to 13, the 14th "Litchi Bay, New Xiguan" folk cultural event hold in Guangzhou's Liwan district, celebrating the upcoming Shangsi Festival.

The Shangsi Festival, also known as the Double Third Festival, is an ancient Chinese festival celebrated on the third day of the third lunar month, which falls on April 11 in 2024. It is mainly observed by Chinese ethnic groups, including Han and Zhuang, to ward off evil spirits and natural disasters.

The Shangsi Festival is also considered to be the possible birthday of the Yellow Emperor. A well-known phrase goes, "San yue san, Xuan Yuan sheng," meaning "On the third day of the third month, the Xuan Yuan (Yellow Emperor) was born."

A series of folk events will be held, including the opening ceremony, Double Third parade, Yellow Emperor's birthday celebration, Pantang Village folk activities, a long table banquet, cultural and artistic activities series, and a cross-regional integration exhibition.

On April 11, Pantang villagers will participate in folk activities such as processions, blessings, lion dances, village tours, and blessing banquets, continuing the tradition of mutual assistance and traditional folk culture among Pantang clans.

During the opening ceremony, dancers wearing traditional Chinese clothing such as Hanfu will stroll in the Xiguan Yongqing Fang tourist area, presenting scenes of ancient purification ceremonies, and offering flowers and herbs to passersby.

Folk Parade buzzes tourists with folk culture feast

As the highlight of the event, the large-scale folk parade boasts a strong lineup of 10 formations. It will be led by dragon and lion performances and floats, including special parade teams such as Cantonese opera, Xiguan ladies' fashion shows, and more. It is estimated that there will be over 500 participants in the parade, presenting citizens and tourists with an outstanding, dazzling, and highly interactive folk cultural event.

This parade will also feature unique cross-regional parade formations, offering a rare sight of a large-scale fusion of folk customs.

The parade will start from the Renwei Temple, passing through Longjin West Road, Enning Road, Fengyuan Road, Pantang Road, and return to the Renwei Temple, covering a distance of about 3 kilometers and taking approximately 3 hours.

Get free purse cooked eggs at long table banquet

Pantang Villagers will set up a long table banquet on Pantang Wuyue Front Street, combining modern and traditional artistic performances to carry out a joint banquet, and inherit the tradition of "family gathering, clan business, praying for a good harvest, and ensuring safety." Activities such as uncovering pots, opening wine jars, toasting, and distributing symbolic blessings of shepherd's purse cooked eggs to guests and on-site citizens will also be held.

In addition, during the banquet, the organizers will hold Cantonese opera performances at the Lychee Bay Grand Stage and set up interactive activities such as lottery draws and drum-beating lion head dances. Various street art performances will be interspersed along the long table banquet route, including magic shows, cockfighting, musical instrument performances, modern dances, and more.

Liwan prepares 100 million yuan ($13.82 million) discount package for Liwan's tourists

In order to enhance the experience of citizens and tourists during this folk cultural feast and to enjoy various activities such as outings and flower appreciation in Liwan district, Liwan district has partnered with Alibaba Group to launch a 100 million yuan Gaode Taxi discount package for Liwan tourism.

Visitors can receive the discount package for free once a week, which includes various discounts, coupons, and benefits. During the Shangsi Festival event period (April 11 to 13), when taking a taxi to Yongqing Fang, people can enjoy a 35 percent discount (limited to 2 per person, with a maximum discount of 15 yuan).

Traffic Control

In order to ensure traffic safety and guarantee the safety of citizens' travel, temporary traffic control will be implemented on surrounding roads during the parade.

Traffic control period:

From 9:30 on April 11th, 2024 (Thursday) until the end of the parade

Parade Route:

Renwei Temple → Longjin West Road → Enning Road → Baohua Road → Hengbao Square → Baoyuan Road → Fengyuan Road → Lychee Bay Stone → Pantang Road → Renwei Temple, with a total distance of approximately 3 kilometers.