Quick Answer
The Naxi Sanduo Festival (三多节, Sānduō Jié) is observed on the eighth day of the second lunar month. It honors Sanduo (三多, Sānduō), a regional protector associated with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The rites at Beiyue Temple (北岳庙, Běiyuè Miào) in Baisha are one part of a festival that also includes village offerings, outings and public events in and around Lijiang.[1][2][3]
- At the temple: A Dongba (东巴, Dōngbā) ritual specialist leads prayers, and worshippers make wishes.[1]
- In outlying villages: People can prepare offerings and hold local observances.[1]
- Across Lijiang: The public programme can span multiple dates and venues.[3]
Use the lunar date to identify the traditional festival day and the programme for the year to identify a particular performance or market.[1][3]
Some families head to a temple with offerings and food. Others make an offering near home, and groups meeting for a spring outing may stop to sing or cook outdoors. These are all scenes in the national heritage inventory’s account of the Sanduo Festival. Its different settings help explain why people can remember the same festival for quite different reasons.[1]
Who Sanduo Is in Naxi Tradition
The national heritage inventory describes Sanduo as a protective figure associated with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, a sacred mountain in Naxi tradition. In stories he is a hero who comes to the aid of people in trouble and embodies the mountain. The inventory identifies the characters 三多 as a Chinese transcription of a Naxi name.[1]
The festival has a strong Naxi identity. The inventory also records Bai and Tibetan residents among the people who honor the protector. It describes observances in Naxi-inhabited areas beyond central Lijiang as well as near the mountain. These ties are part of the region’s history of exchange, described in the guide to Yunnan culture.[1]
What Happens at Beiyue Temple
Baisha’s Beiyue Temple is a focus for people who travel to make offerings. The national inventory describes a rite led by a senior Dongba specialist, who recites texts for Sanduo and the sacred day. Worshippers then offer incense and make wishes for protection. The words of the recitation have a particular ritual role. For the written forms associated with Dongba practice, see Dongba writing for context.[1][2]
The temple and the Baisha murals belong to the same settlement, which helps explain why both appear in accounts of Lijiang. The temple rite has its own setting and sequence. The wall paintings also occupy other buildings in Baisha.[2][4]
How Village and Spring Gatherings Differ
The national account describes Naxi villages far from the temple preparing offerings and making them outdoors or near home. It also describes temple visitors continuing to the camellia garden at Yufeng Temple, and mentions antiphonal singing, outdoor cooking and datiao (打跳, dǎtiào), a group dance, along the way.[1]
Markets, music and dancing are also described around the temple, and village or town gatherings may carry on into the evening. An account that calls the occasion a spring outing may therefore be describing a particular part of the festival. For the names and histories behind some of the music associated with Lijiang, see Naxi ancient music traditions.[1]
How Lijiang Schedules Public Events
The traditional date follows the lunar calendar. Organizers can build a longer public programme around it and assign events to different sites. Yunnan Daily reported that the 2026 programme ran from March 26 to April 12, with the main venue at the city’s sports development centre. It listed Beiyue Temple, Yuhe Square and other locations as additional venues.[3]
China added the Sanduo Festival to its national intangible cultural heritage list in 2021, with Yulong Naxi Autonomous County named in the entry. The record gives the date, rites and distribution of the practice. A dated programme tells you where a concert, dance or market was scheduled in a particular year.[1][3]
FAQs About the Naxi Sanduo Festival
Is Sanduo Festival Always on the Same Date?
The traditional observance falls on the eighth day of the second lunar month. Its Gregorian date changes. Public events can be scheduled across more than one day.[1][3]
Does the Festival Only Take Place in Baisha?
Beiyue Temple in Baisha is a major site. The national inventory also records village observances near homes and outdoors, while Lijiang’s organized programme can use several venues.[1][2][3]
Sources
[1] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. National inventory entry for the Sanduo Festival
[2] Yunnan Net. Naxi Sanduo Festival and Beiyue Temple observance
[3] Yunnan Daily. Lijiang’s 2026 Sanduo Festival programme
[4] Yunnan Commission on Ethnic and Religious Affairs. Locations of the Baisha murals