Celebrate the stunning sights in Hainan’s Wuzhishan City

By Li Xiang / HICN / Updated: 22:26,26-December-2021

As the crimson leaves at Beijing’s Fragrant Hills and the Yuelu Mountain in Changsha began to fall and melt into the soil, Hainan’s south-central Wuzhishan City is blessed with the perfect climate for magnificent autumn colors. To celebrate the beautiful fall colors and the generous harvest provided by mother nature, a Red Foliage Festival is being held in the city from now through February 5th.

As the Red Foliage Festival kicked off in Wuzhishan’s Shuiman Village last Saturday, a variety of activities were held to mark the occasion. These included a long-table banquet with mouth-watering local dishes, performances featuring the traditional folk songs, dances, and musical instruments of the local Li and Miao peoples, a bonfire, and more. 

The nose flute, a traditional musical instrument of the Li People, was played on the opening night of the Red Foliage Festival on December 18th. (Photo courtesy of the organizer of the festival)

The Bamboo Dance, also known as the Firewood Dance, is not only an ancient ceremony where the Li people worship their ancestors at harvest time, but also an important part of their daily lives. (Photo courtesy of the organizer of the festival)

A bonfire was held on the opening night of the Red Foliage Festival on December 18th, and everyone was invited to join the dance. (Photo courtesy of the organizer of the festival)

Festival Activities:

Long Table Banquet

At the Long Table Banquet, dozens of tables are arranged in a long row, banana leaves are laid as tablecloths, and coconut shells and bamboo tubes are used as dishes. Diners are treated to mouth-watering delicacies made from natural local ingredients, such as Three-Color Rice, Shanlan Rice Wine, Ant Chicken, Shuiman Duck, and more. The banquet, considered the grandest ceremony for the Li people, is held to entertain guests, and dates back thousands of years.

Shanlan Rice Wine (also called Biang Rice Wine) is a local specialty made from a variety of glutinous rice only found in the Wuzhi Mountain area. (Photo: “海南五指山旅游”)

Local free-range chickens that feed on insects, wild fruits, and grass seeds are used to make the Ant Chicken. The chickens only grow to a small size, and usually weigh no more than 1 kilogram, giving the dish the name “Ant Chicken”. (Photo: “海南五指山旅游”)

Wuzhishan Black Tea Exhibition

The excellent natural conditions in Wuzhishan make it not only a pleasant place to visit but also for tea trees to flourish. The popular local black tea is made from a species of large-leaf tea tree that grows wild in the Wuzhishan rainforest area. A popular brand both in China and around the world, high-quality Wuzhishan Black Tea will be on exhibit during the Festival. Visitors will have an opportunity to sample the aromatic black tea themselves before buying some. You can also gain insight into the local tea culture at a tea-making competition held at the organic tea garden, where local tea makers will display their dazzling techniques in the whole tea-making process.

(Photo: “海南五指山旅游”)

Enjoying the colorful foliage on a mountain walk

Since the lower the temperature is, the more colorful the leaves get, the trees at the foot of majestic Wuzhi Mountain are lush and green all year round. You’ll need to hike up onto the slopes to get a better view of the area’s bright red foliage. Follow the wooden walkway into one of the best-preserved tropical rainforests in the world and walk along a nature trail bordered by Chinese Sweet Gum Trees, Kalkora Silk Trees, and Mountain Crab Apple Trees as well as gently flowing streams. Take a deep breath of the fresh rainforest air created by the dense vegetation.

Located in the Wuzhi Mountain National Park, the Yabin Area is one of the seven officially recommended routes to view the red foliage in Wuzhishan City.

Camping

Tired out from a long day of hiking, sightseeing, and dancing the bamboo dance? Curl up in a tent and drift off to sleep under the starry skies in the rainforest. The camping season here continues until January 18th. Electronic music parties and outdoor movies will be held at the campground to add some excitement to the night!


Come to Wuzhishan and enjoy the glorious colors of Shuiman Village with the local people. If you can’t make it from now to Feb 5th, then remember that the real color is there the year round — and it changes every time you visit.

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