The tropical island of Hainan offers a plethora of ancient and modern holidays not often celebrated in the rest of the country
Though China adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1912, after the last emperor abdicated the throne, the enduring popularity of the traditional lunisolar and other ethnic calendars means most people have twice as many holidays and traditional festivals to celebrate today.
Recently, the celebration of Sanyuesan (三月三), the third day of the third lunar month, went viral in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with videos more 800-meter-long dragon boat parades—and perhaps more enviously, three extra days of holiday people elsewhere in China don’t get. But Sanyuesan isn’t just celebrated in Guangxi or the Zhuang people. In our book Jade Cliffs to Ocean Paradise, TWOC’s writers traveled of Hainan, home to several ethnic groups like the Li, Miao, and Han, where there are still a few little-known traditional festivals that give people something to celebrate almost every season.
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