One Day in Jixi, Dreaming Back for Three Years! I Found the Lost Flavor of the New Year

As we all know, there are three major regional cultures in China: Dunhuang studies, Tibetan studies, and Hui studies. The region where Hui studies is located is the ancient Huizhou area. Ancient Huizhou spanned the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, governing one prefecture and six counties. The six counties were She County, Yi County, Xiuning, Wuyuan, Jixi, and Qimen. According to the current administrative division, She County, Yi County, Xiuning, and Qimen are under the jurisdiction of Huangshan City, while Wuyuan County has even been moved to another province—Shangrao, Jiangxi. Jixi County now belongs to Xuancheng City. Perhaps administrative regions can be separated, but the shared Hui culture cannot be divided. This time, I came to Jixi, known as the "Source of Huizhou," and was deeply impressed by its profound history and folk culture in just one day. Over the past three years, we suffered from the constraints of masks, and this day in Jixi also helped me rediscover the long-lost flavor of the New Year.

The seat of the ancient Huizhou government, that is, the political center, was in She County. But when it comes to the "Source of Huizhou," Jixi County is truly worthy of the title. This is because: geographically, Jixi is located in the core area of ancient Huizhou; historically, the long history of ancient Huizhou is evidenced by the prehistoric site in Jixi dating back 6,000 years. The name Huizhou originated from Huiling, Huixi, and Dahui Village in Jixi.

Daytime Visit to Jixi Museum

As mentioned above, I only had one day in Jixi this time, but it still left a deep impression on me, worthy of writing this travelogue as a memento! Jixi is rich in tourism resources, such as the national 5A-level scenic spot Longchuan, the thousand-year-old village Renli, and the Huihang Ancient Trail, which is very popular among outdoor enthusiasts. Due to time constraints, I did not leave the county town during the day and visited the Jixi County Museum and the Three Carvings Museum. (The picture below, taken in the museum, shows a map of the main scenic spots in Jixi County. You can save it; it might come in handy when visiting Jixi.)

Let's start with the Jixi County Museum. The county museum is located in the center of the old city, on the former site of the old county government, which was also the site of the old county yamen. The museum building itself has great aesthetic design, and its designer is Li Xinggang, Deputy Chief Architect of the China Architecture Design & Research Group and an internationally renowned architectural master. The design of the familiar National Stadium "Bird's Nest" in China is the work of Master Li.

The exhibits in the county museum are also quite rich and contain a vast amount of information. They are divided into six parts: Forms of Mountains and Waters (Jishui Huishan Hall), Spirit of Humanities (Humanistic Jixi Hall), Spirit of Merchant Path (Merchant Path Jixi Hall), Folk Customs (Folk Customs Jixi Hall), Charm of Art (Huizhou Charm Jixi Hall), and Flavor of Cuisine (Huizhou Flavor Jixi Hall). Combining points and surfaces, from the surface to the core, they show visitors the long-standing soul of Jixi's mountains, waters, and nature, as well as the sedimentation of history and culture. Due to limited space, I won't elaborate too much here. You still need to come and check it out in person and listen to the explanations.

Just a hundred meters away from the Jixi County Museum is the Three Carvings Museum, which is housed in an old ancestral hall. The building itself is very worth seeing.

The Huizhou Three Carvings refer to the stone carvings, wood carvings, and brick carvings we often talk about. It is also one of the national intangible cultural heritages, with a long history and a complete technological process. Its carving skills and artistic value fully reflect the talents and artistic creativity of the ancient Chinese working people.

We can also see Huizhou Three Carvings in many ancient Huizhou villages, such as Longchuan and Renli. But the advantage of coming to the Three Carvings Museum is that all the exhibits here can be viewed up close. It is no exaggeration to say that many carvings can achieve meticulous detail. Whether it is the shape of the figures or the three-dimensional space, viewing them up close really amazed me.

Overall, these two museums encapsulate Hui culture and are must-visit attractions in Jixi county town. Both museums are free for visitors, but it is worth noting that they are closed on Mondays.

The day I came to Jixi was the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month. I stayed at a hotel not far from the high-speed rail station. Around 5:30 PM, I noticed that people on the street were gradually heading to the Harmony Square next to the county government. During the day, I felt there weren't many people in the county town, but at dinner time, everyone came out? It turned out that the local area was holding the Jixi County 2023 Spring Festival Folk Culture Joy Gathering event.

The Jixi County 2023 Spring Festival Folk Culture Joy Gathering event lasted a total of five days, from the evening of February 1 (the 11th day of the first lunar month) to February 5 (the 15th day of the first lunar month). What a coincidence! I encountered the last day, and perhaps the Lantern Festival day was the most exciting.

I arrived at the event site around 6 PM, about an hour before the performance started. There were other related activities on Harmony Square, so I went to check out the intangible cultural heritage food market, the intangible cultural heritage creative exhibition, and the Lantern Festival lantern riddle corridor. I solved my dinner problem at the food market. Huizhou cuisine has rich cultural connotations and is one of the eight famous cuisines in China. Jixi is also known as the hometown of Huizhou cuisine and the hometown of Huizhou chefs. So the snacks here are all very delicious and highly local in character.

An hour of eating and strolling passed quickly. The performance started at 7 PM on the dot, and the crowd gathered around the central stage. Since the event did not require tickets and seating was first-come, first-served, latercomers had to watch from several layers deep. I squeezed to the front and stood up, looking back to see that there were indeed a lot of people! Even a light rain could not dampen everyone's enthusiasm.

Almost all the performance teams were representative teams from various towns and villages in Jixi. The opening act was the Kanshou Old Drum, an intangible cultural heritage from Jiapeng Township. Jiapeng's rapeseed flowers are very famous. Every spring when they bloom, they attract many tourists and photographers. The Kanshou Old Drum I saw this time originated from the Tang Dynasty. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, residents of Kanshou Village in Jiapeng Township have used the Kanshou Old Drum to pray for a good harvest and to inspire people. In May 2022, it was included in the sixth batch of representative items of Anhui Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Then, after a simple but grand eye-dotting and red-and-green draping ceremony, the event entered its most enthusiastic atmosphere.

Let me mention a few performances that left a deep impression on me. The first was the Hand Dragon Dance from Guizhi Primary School. The Hand Dragon Dance is a group dance performed by boys and girls. The small dragon lantern props made of bamboo strips are exquisitely crafted and beautiful. The dance is lively, vivid, full of spirit and vitality. It also has a strong Hui cultural flavor, embodying the Huizhou people's wish for their sons to become dragons (i.e., to succeed) and to bring glory to their ancestors. It is a national intangible cultural heritage project. The Hand Dragon Dance from Guizhi Primary School also appeared on the stage of the 2023 Anhui Farmers' Spring Festival Gala this year. It can be seen that these performers are young but have an excellent stage presence, and their lively and festive performance fits the New Year atmosphere perfectly.

The second performance that amazed me was the Board Dragon Dance from Beicun Village in Fuling Town. The Board Dragon Dance is a municipal-level intangible cultural heritage project in Xuancheng City and a Spring Festival tradition that has been followed in Beicun Village, Fuling Town, for hundreds of years. Every year on the third day of the first lunar month, Beicun holds a Board Dragon Dance ceremony. Every 36-year-old male in the village is responsible for dancing a section of the dragon's body. As the board dragon soars and dances, it brings the annual Spring Festival customs and activities to a climax.

The board dragons in Beicun are all handmade. First, the dragon's shape is woven with bamboo strips. The dragon head is separate and the most important part. The dragon body is segmented, with a bench as the base, and bamboo strips are put over the bench to weave a cage shape. The dragon tail is also tied to the bench, divided into three forks. Then, all parts of the dragon are pasted with white cotton paper. The dragon's eyes and scales are painted on the dragon head, and finally, colors are applied. This year, the dragon head was mainly red and yellow, lifelike and very impressive to look at.

Another impressive performance was the Auspicious Fire Lion from Shangzhuang Town. The Fire Lion Dance is also one of Anhui Province's intangible cultural heritages. This art form originated in the Ming Dynasty and is often performed at night, traveling through villages. The "fire lion" is made with bamboo strips, its body is pasted with colored paper, and candles are lit inside the lion's body, making it glow all over. During the performance, two people hold poles to manipulate it. Another person is the lion tamer, holding a torch and occasionally sprinkling rosin powder onto the torch. Flames leap into the air, the "fire lion" dances, drums and gongs resound, and the "fire lion" performs various lion dance movements to the rhythm of gongs, drums, and suona tunes.

In addition to the performances I introduced above, the entire show also included the Double Dragon Welcoming Spring from Shangzhuang Town, the Double Lions Playing with Spring from Chang'an Town, the Divine Beast Zhaofu from Fuling Town, and the Harvest Grass Dragon from Yangxi Town. At the end of the performance, sky lanterns were released in the square for blessings. In Jixi, on the 15th day of the first lunar month, in addition to the traditional eating of tangyuan (sweet dumplings) and viewing lanterns, releasing sky lanterns is also necessary for completeness. Sky lanterns come in various sizes. A large sky lantern uses more than 100 sheets of 1-open cotton paper, with a total height of up to 5 meters. When lit, it can carry 30 small lanterns up into the sky together, a truly spectacular sight...

Coming Back to Jixi Next Year

One day in Jixi, dreaming back for three years! I really haven't seen such a lively scene in a long time. Actually, the flavor of the New Year around us is gradually being lost, not just because of three years of wearing masks. The pace of city life is getting faster and faster. Even on New Year's Eve, many shops on the street are still open for business. Hanging a lantern outside might be considered celebrating the New Year, and even fireworks are not allowed... I often think back to my childhood, when my family started preparing New Year's goods and buying fireworks half a month in advance. On New Year's Eve, the streets were empty, and everyone was at home reuniting with family. But... for my child, who is now two years old, he has never experienced the real flavor of the New Year since he was little. When he grows up, how will he reminisce about it? So, there are still more than 300 days until the next New Year. Let me make a wish right now! Next Spring Festival, I will bring him and my family to Jixi again for a few days, planning to go deep into the countryside and experience the strong folk atmosphere of the New Year.

So how do you get to Jixi? Jixi County has very convenient transportation. It is located along the Hangzhou-Huangshan high-speed railway and can connect to the Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou high-speed railway and the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway. The entire East China region can be reached by high-speed rail. Departing from Jixi, it takes just over an hour to reach the provincial capital Hefei by high-speed rail, about 1.5 hours to reach Hangzhou, about 2.5 hours to reach Shanghai, and 3 hours to reach Nanjing. Moreover, Jixi County is about 60 km+ from Huangshan Tunxi International Airport. Travelers from farther away can choose to fly to Huangshan and then transfer to Jixi County.