The Long Street Banquet Festival in Yuanyang
Hanni people is one of the 26 minorities in Yunnan. They are spread in the Honghe River area which is the southwest part of Yunnan. It has a population of 1.4 million, mostly engaged in agriculture. During the procedure of declaring Yuanyang Hani Terrace in Yunnan to be the world heritage,people begin to pay more attention to the terrace’s special values of culture and tourism. The Terrance fields of Yuanyang attracted lots of tourists to visit every year.
Especially most people like to travel the region by the end of November. The end of Nov. is the Anmatu Festival of Hani People which be called as Long street Banquet Festival . It is a time-honored culinary tradition prevailing among the Hani, Miao, Dong and Yi people. As an epitome of their food culture, etiquette, custom, singing and dancing, Long Street Banquet is usually held during festivals, grand occasions such as wedding ceremonies or newborn babies’ one-year-old birthday parties. Nowadays, as long as you join a group tour, you can experience this timeworn tradition all year around in the majority of Miao, Dong, Hani or Yi villages, which are mainly scattered in Southwest China, a treasure trove of minorities. During the 2-3days celebration: you can enjoy the Festival dancing and sing show. Arrow shooting race and traditional activities.
The highlight is the Long-Dragon Banquet started at noon with the thundering of drums and gongs. But nobody stirred, not until the respected elders, dressed in dark blue clothes and black scarves, were seated. The banquet began with contributions of dishes to the elders, who tasted them first. Then, people took their seats and enjoyed a feast of more than 1,000 dishes.
The Habo Long-Dragon Banquet we attended was extremely active. The length of the “dragon” of tables stretched as long as 300 meters up the slope of a mountain. The number of dishes doubled as mountain delicacies and wild delights were brought forth.
The Long-Dragon Banquet is the best of its kind for the Hani people, and no longer banquet has been found anywhere else in the world. The banquet was filled with laughter, singing, and dancing, and it was not over until the sun set.
