Quick Answer
The Shui (水族, Shuǐzú) Duan Festival (端节, Duānjié) marks the harvest and the turn of the year in the Shui calendar. Communities in Guizhou observe it on different dates. The national heritage entry for Sandu describes seven successive rounds, with ancestral remembrance and communal gatherings among the documented practices.[1][2]
- Calendar: The season runs across the Shui year boundary, roughly within months eight to ten of the Chinese lunar calendar.[1][2]
- Family: People make offerings to ancestors and may visit relatives in communities observing a different round.[2]
- Community: Horse racing and other events can bring people together at a local gathering place.[2]
For a specific celebration, check which community is observing Duan and the date recorded for that round.[1][2]
A household can be receiving relatives while another village is still preparing for its festival day. Duan’s timing helps explain why reports often describe the occasion as several weeks long. A family gathering, a race and a public performance may all be part of the season while taking place in different settings.[1][2]
Why the Duan Festival Spans Several Weeks
The Sandu record places Duan at the end of the old Shui year and start of the new one, when grain ripens. It describes dates calculated around a hai day (亥, hài), named for one of the Earthly Branches. The branch marks a day in a recurring cycle. The festival season in the Shui calendar is given as the twelfth month through the second month of the new year.[1][2]
The inventory describes seven groups of dates in the practice it records, from first to last over roughly fifty days. This interval describes the span of the festival across participating communities. Local people can observe one round and then visit relatives elsewhere in another. The explanation published by People’s Daily connects the sequence with relatives living in different places.[1][2]
What Families Do for Duan
The 2025 account identifies ancestral offerings as central to the rounds it describes. The festival brings relatives together around meals and visits as well as remembrance. Visiting relatives who observe another round can extend family contact beyond the household’s own day.[2]
The guide to Chinese ethnic groups places the Shui within the wider range of communities whose calendars and festivals are described separately.[1][2]
What Happens on the Duan Slope
Horse races are held at a Duan slope (端坡, duānpō), also called a New Year slope in the 2025 account. The gathering gives riders a place to demonstrate their skill, and people come to watch and meet. Other documented activities include paired singing, bronze drum dancing and communal meals. The race is a prominent public part of some celebrations.[2]
A photograph of riders gives you one part of the festival. A caption naming the village and date is more informative because it helps place that event within the sequence of rounds. Local clothing and textiles have their own histories. For example, Shui horsetail embroidery explains a textile technique associated with Shui communities.
How to Read a Local Festival Programme
A 2023 Guizhou report shows a particular celebration in Guilan Shui Township, Duyun. It includes a traditional ceremony and a lusheng dance. Those details identify the activities in that year and place.[3]
China listed the Shui Duan Festival in 2006, with Sandu Shui Autonomous County named in the entry. The inventory explains the seasonal practice and its calendar. A dated local programme gives a different kind of detail, identifying where a specific public gathering will be held.[1][3]
FAQs About the Shui Duan Festival
Is Duan the Same as the Dragon Boat Festival?
The Shui Duan Festival is a harvest and New Year observance tied to the Shui calendar. The Dragon Boat Festival has its own date and traditions in the fifth lunar month.[1][4]
Does Every Shui Community Celebrate on the Same Day?
The Sandu heritage entry describes seven rounds tied to different local dates. Across the festival season, communities observe them in succession.[1][2]
出典
[1] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. Sandu national inventory entry for the Shui Duan Festival
[2] People’s Daily. Origins and features of the Shui Duan Festival
[3] Guizhou Government English Portal. A Duan Festival observance in Guilan, Duyun
[4] UNESCO. Dragon Boat Festival