Festival greets summer with traditional flair

This may be an age of weather and communication satellites, of mobile phones and online messaging, but ancient customs and traditions still have a role to play. On May 5 last year, in Banshan National Forest Park, Gongshu district, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, a parade of dozens of people dressed in hanfu, the traditional clothing of the Han people, and holding lanterns with incense candles, presented a splendid spectacle. Stopping in front of a temple dedicated to a Song Dynasty (960-1279) maiden, they performed the ceremony to "send away the spring and welcome the summer", a custom passed down the generations, which locals in ancient times used to regard as essential in order to be blessed by the summer's generosity.

The ritual celebrates lixia, or Start of Summer, as the name suggests, one of the 24 solar terms that often falls on May 5.Spring is a kaleidoscope of colors. At the end of the season, the withered petals of cherry blossoms whirling in the wind might suggest a time of change, before summer rushes forward enthusiastically with its prominent marking－lixia, eulogizing the passion of growth. If the four seasons of the year are likened to the four stages of nature, Start of Summer is definitely a ceremony celebrating nature's youth. From this day on, nature has entered a mature, enthusiastic and unrestrained period from a tender, green and mild childhood. The temperature begins to gradually warm up, and you can feel a sense of growth in the air.

Traditionally, the 24 solar terms reflect a knowledge and understanding related to agricultural production of a bygone era. Not many traditional festivals are named after these solar terms. However, in Hangzhou, locals celebrate Start of Summer as a proper festival. It has been included in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016. In 2020, it was listed in the fifth batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The Banshan Lixia Festival was initiated over 10 years ago by a group of locals interested in culture headed by Ni Airen, chairman of the Gaoting Cultural Research Association in Hangzhou. It was gradually expanded into a festival with the support of the local government. A native of the Banshan subdistrict, Ni has a strong interest in folk customs. In 2007, Ni, together with other folk culture enthusiasts, held the first festival. Later, the local government helped organize cultural activities, and the festival has gradually become a cultural brand in Hangzhou.

"Integrating traditional customs into modern life and initiating a popular holiday event for the public is what I've been campaigning for," Ni says.