From September 20th to November 2nd , 2024,“Shilin Ashima Culture and Tourism Festival”was held in Azhuodi village, Changhu. At the opening ceremony, Zhou Linchun, deputy secretary of Shilin Yi Nationality Autonomous County Party Committee, delivered a speech. We aim to build more resilient communities and contribute to the community's sustainable development. So we always try to organize these activities to strengthen the links with them. We want not only to promote their agriculture products and ethnic culture, but also enhance villagers’ self-confidence to create a better future.

The whole celebration of the festival was divided into three parts which were “Ethnic Culture Exhibition”, “Agricultural Products Promotion” and “Outdoor Activities”.

In the first phrase, we conducted several singing and dancing performances. We showcased folk songs and dances, such as “Azhuodi is a Beautiful Place”, “Ashima”and so on. Moreover, we held costume shows of Yi nationality.

After these performances, we installed some booths to introduce our agriculture products, for instance, we showcased our various mushrooms of high quality.

Besides, we invited some villagers and tourists to taste our apples and select the best one. We also held some games like“Eating Apples Contest”, “Weaving Hot Peppers”，“Backpacking Pumpkins“ and so on. Through these games, we created some pleasure in villagers’ daily life, showcased the farming scenes and the wisdom of farmers, and celebrated the joy of harvest.

Since earlier this year, Changhu Town fully implemented the decisions and arrangements from higher authorities. The local government led villagers to adopt science and technology to agriculture production, which help people increase the grain output. Other cash crops also developed quickly such as chrysanthemum tea, tobacco leaf, apples and so on. The development of agriculture has improved the personal and economic well-being.

The last stage is the outdoor activities in which we designed four programs. We first held a parents-child campaign in the Changhu scenic spot which was called a “Lake Hike”. We prepared maps of the scenic area and bottles of water for each family. We also asked them to prepare hiking equipment and some food. The winners of this competition could get souvenirs.

We also conducted a performance named “Shihu Dance”. It is a kind of traditional dance in which villagers wear costumes of lions and tigers and they imitate the acts of these animals. Due to the auspicious symbolism of lions and tigers, Sani people of Yi nationality always conduct this dance in the sacrificial ceremonies to represent their advocation for strength and force. This dance is inscribed on Kunming Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Nowadays, we have already had 20 teams and 50 costumes. This time, we organized a contest for Tiger King and prepared the trophies for winners.

Additionally, we also held an activity for catching fishes and ducks. We invited all the tourists and local villagers to attend. All the participants can bring fishes and ducks they caught back home.

During these days, if you stayed here until the evening, you could go to our Changhu Concert. There were lots of folk musicians who played the folk musical instruments and sang folk songs.

We always support the activities held in our communities and we are committed to strengthening collaboration with the local communities. We hope we can benefit more local communities through our geo-tourism and achieve their firm commitments. Moreover, we also want to attract more visitors to come to Shilin, know more about Shilin and fall in love with Shilin.