Hainan Culture

The long history and the multiple inhabitations have cultivated a colorful folk culture and art ,while they have also developed rich local handicrafts and religious culture. Sanya local culture and art consist of fairy tales, legends, folk dances, folk music, sculpture, gardening, religion and handicrafts. Every piece of the local folk

Sanya folk weaving has been enjoying a long history and well known either home or abroad. It includes roughly the cloth weaving and the bamboo weaving. Cloth weaving is represented by cotton weaving by Li covers, bags and skirts, all known for elaborate patterns and colorful figures. Bamboo strips need be processed in many operations including scraping and polish before they can be woven into delicate handicrafts of different shapes serving different purposes.

Sanya folk art is represented by songs and dances of Li people and Miao people. Their dancing poses all originated from the basic motions for hunting and farming while the accompanying melodies all originated from local folk ballads.

Hainan Nationality

Holding 130 thousand people in the town, Sanya is inhabited by totally 524,000 people of over 20 nationalities including Chinese Han, Miao, Li and Hui. In the whole population, 173 thousand are Li people, 3 thousand are Miao and 6 thousand are Hui. These people still maintain their exclusive culture and custom. Attracted by rich folk culture, colorful custom and wonderful folk andicrafts, more and more visitors come from all over the world to visit Sanya.
Li people and Miao people enjoy singing and dancing very much. Upon an abundant harvest the Spring Festival or the March 3 Festival, people with all their whole families gather in an opens field next to their villages, lighting up torches and dancing with accompaniment of gongs in various formations such as "beer hunting", "turning-back deer" or "coco shell". A dance named Jumping over Bamboo was awarded "China's Excellent Dance" and classified under China's repertoires of minority nationalities.

Hui Nationality	Li Nationality	Miao Nationality
Hui are off spring of foreign immigrants mainly from Persia and Arab, believing in Islamism, whose traditional religions festivals are Lesser Bairam and Corban. They mainly reside in Huihui Village and Huixin Village of Yanglan Town of Sanya. The long history and the multiple inhabitants have cultivated a colorful folk culture and art, while they have also developed rich local handicrafts and religions culture. Sanya's local culture and art consist of fairy tales, legends, folk dances, folk music, sculpture, garderning religion and handicrafts. Every piece of the local folk culture and art can be a wonder and a surprise to the visitors.	Li Nationality is the most ancient inhabitants of Hainan which is also the largest minor nationality in Sanya. They have a long history and unique customs. Each ethnic group celebrates its specific festivals. From harvest festivals to burial, from offerings for good grace, from traditional village rites to family weddings. There is a huge cross section of festivals. March the 3rd is a grand festival of the locals when young people sing songs to each other to express their feelings. The traditional Bamboo dance of Li Nationality is one of the national excellent dances across the country.	They used to live in the mountains. People are friendly and hospitable. Singing, dancing, weaving, cultivating, all these picture their economic and cultural life. Come to the Miao village will make you feel returning to the slash and burn cultivation years, to your heart's content with the sense of returning to the origin.

Hainan Festival

Junpo Festival for Hainan People:
It is the biggest festival of local Han People after Chinese New Year to worship the national heroine called Madam Xian (513-03). Madam Xian was a politician and militarist who has been honored by the folks of Hainan for 1300 years. She conquered the local rebellions and actively promoted the communication of Hainan Island with mainland China. She has donated all her life to the development of local agricultural and economy

Junpo Festival lasts four days from February. 9th to 12th (lunar calendar, around early March Solar Calendar). During these days, Hainan people dress up in military uniform and perform lion dances & singing. In some places, the local people will kowtow to the statures of their beloved folk heroine and carry out the demonstration in every village. Some people come to worship in the temples with cooked chicken, meat, wine, incenses and candles to pray for the new life. Of course, it is a big ban meal for all villages.

Sanyuesan Festival

The Sanyuesan Festival, also named March Third Festival is the traditional festival of the Li and Miao minorities in the Hainan Island which takes place on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month of the year. This is the chance for the young girls and boys to get together for singing and dancing. Young people will look for their beloved by singing and dancing competition.

Preparation for the festival starts half a month in advance. Men go hunting and women cook dishes. Then they will gather near a big cave or a big square to enjoy Zongzi (stick rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves) and cakes, and gather from far and near in the front of the caves.

Bamboo Dance is a must during this festival by girls and boys in traditional clothes. Other games include wrestling, push-and-pull, shooting and swinging.