Orange festival held to celebrate good harvest

As the year nears a close and Spring Festival approaches, Huanjiang Maonan autonomous county in Hechi, Guangxi, held an orange festival on Jan 16 to celebrate the good harvests of 2016.

A drone's eye view of Chenshuang village, Huanjiang Maonan autonomous county, where residents gather to take part in the orange festival. [Photo by Gao Dongfeng/news.hcwang.cn]

Villagers from Chenshuang danced to traditional music and took part in fun-filled activities many of which were orange themed, such as an orange peeling and eating contest, and a bare-handed fish catching competition.

People of the Miao ethnic group dance to celebrate their good harvest, at Chenshuang village, Huanjiang Maonan autonomous county in Hechi, Guangxi, on Jan 16. [Photo by Gao Dongfeng/news.hcwang.cn]

Chenshuang village residents first began planting and growing oranges some five years ago, with their efforts finally paying off this year, as it takes up to five years for orange trees to bare saleable fruit.

The oranges are to be sold in provinces across the country, including Guizhou, Hunan, Guangdong, and Sichuan, thanks in part to the use of an e-commerce sales platform.

Villagers participate in an orange eating contest on Jan 16. [Photo by Gao Dongfeng/news.hcwang.cn]