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Qiang New Year: Sichuan’s Mountain Thanksgiving, Rebuilt After 2008

Intangible Cultural Heritage
Oct 23, 2026
Qiang stone watchtowers and temple halls of the Silver Turtle Temple on a hilltop in Maoxian, Sichuan, with a flag-lined stairway under a blue sky

Qiang New Year is a harvest thanksgiving held high in the mountains of western Sichuan, and it very nearly did not survive 2008. The Qiang people celebrate it on the first day of the tenth lunar month, which falls on 9 November in 2026. UNESCO put the festival on its urgent-safeguarding list in 2009, after the Wenchuan earthquake tore through Qiang country (UNESCO, 2009). Then, in December 2024, it moved the festival to the Representative List instead (UNESCO, 2024). This guide covers what happens on the day, why white stones matter so much, and how a visitor can take part without getting in the way.

What Is Qiang New Year?

First, the people. The Qiang are one of China’s 56 officially recognized ethnic groups, a little over 300,000 strong. Most live in the river valleys of the Min River and its side streams, in Aba Prefecture and Mianyang in Sichuan. Their villages are known for tall stone watchtowers and flat-roofed stone houses. For a wider map of who lives where, see our overview of ethnic groups in China.

The festival itself has several names. In the Qiang language it is often written as Rimeji (日美吉) or the Rimei festival, roughly “the festival of good fortune and joy” (Li & Zhou, 2025). Older Chinese sources also give Ermaji (尔玛吉). The date follows the old Qiang calendar, and in practice it lands on the first day of the tenth lunar month.

The celebration usually lasts three to five days. China lists it as national heritage item No. 989, with the Maoxian Cultural Center as its official guardian (China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, n.d.). Maoxian’s 23 townships are the core area. Even so, Wenchuan, Li County, Songpan and Beichuan celebrate too.

How Qiang New Year Is Celebrated

The festival has two halves. Guangming Daily describes them simply: first “thanking and honoring the gods”, then “eating the banquet” (Li & Zhou, 2025). Many villages start preparing around Lidong, the solar term that opens winter. Some keep the party going until the tenth day of the month.

The mountain sacrifice

The solemn part comes first. The village climbs to a sacred spot on the mountain to give thanks for the harvest. A shibi leads the rite. The shibi is a Qiang ritual specialist: part priest, part healer and part keeper of memory. He beats a sheepskin drum and chants long sacred texts from memory. In Wenchuan’s Qiangfeng village, for instance, a 78-year-old shibi named Wang Qingfa led the 2025 rite with his drum (Li & Zhou, 2025).

White stones on the rooftops

Here is the detail most visitors miss. Look up at a Qiang roof and you will often see a lump of white quartz on top. That stone is not decoration. In Qiang belief, the gods of the sky, the earth and the mountains are all present in white stone (China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, 2010). So when people honor the white stone at New Year, they are honoring all of them at once.

Zajiu, the feast and the Salang dance

Then the mood flips. Families take turns hosting feasts. The star drink is zajiu, a barley wine sipped through long bamboo straws from a shared jar. At night, everyone in festival clothes joins the Salang, a circle dance around a bonfire. That evening, each household also holds its own rite for the family gods and the god of fire.

  • Who leads: the shibi at the mountain, then village elders and heads of household.
  • What you hear: sheepskin drums, chanted texts, and songs in the Qiang language.
  • What you eat: paotang, the fresh-pork feast of the season, and plenty of zajiu.

Why Qiang New Year Went on UNESCO’s Urgent List

The trouble started long before the earthquake. According to UNESCO, fewer people were joining in, for three reasons (UNESCO, 2009):

  • migration, as young people left the valleys for work;
  • less interest in Qiang heritage among the young;
  • the pull of outside cultures.

Then, on 12 May 2008, the Wenchuan earthquake hit. It measured 8.0, and its epicenter lay in the heart of Qiang country. China Daily notes that it destroyed many Qiang villages and killed many of the people who carried the traditions (Wang, 2024). For a tradition passed on by word of mouth, losing elders means losing texts. UNESCO responded in 2009 by placing the festival on its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

How Qiang New Year Came Back

Fifteen years of work followed. On 5 December 2024, at its 19th session in Asunción, Paraguay, UNESCO’s committee moved the festival to the Representative List (UNESCO, 2024). Two other Chinese elements made the same move that day: the Li textile techniques of Hainan and the building of wooden arch bridges (Wang, 2024).

So what changed? UNESCO’s summary points to a few things:

  • Rebuilding. The festival helped people rebuild faith and resilience after the quake. Meanwhile, traditional villages were restored, and their roads and services improved (Wang, 2024).
  • Schools. The festival’s knowledge, and the Qiang language with it, entered formal education. That, UNESCO says, raised young people’s interest in their own heritage.
  • Livelihoods. Local development plans now include the festival, which brings jobs and income.

Experts sounded relieved. Pan Lusheng of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles said these near-lost practices “can now be naturally passed down and developed” (Wang, 2024). If that story sounds familiar, it should. Our guide to Hezhen Yimakan, the epic that left the urgent list follows a very similar path.

Qiang New Year vs Thanksgiving and Samhain

For a Western reader, two comparisons help. Neither is perfect, but each catches part of the picture.

Thanksgiving. Like the American and Canadian holiday, Qiang New Year is about gratitude for the harvest, followed by a big shared meal. The difference is who gets thanked. Thanksgiving dinner is mostly a family affair. Qiang New Year, by contrast, thanks the mountain itself, in public, with the whole village there.

Samhain. The old Celtic festival behind Halloween also marked the end of the harvest and, by many accounts, the start of a new year. It too falls in early November. Both mark the turn from the farming season into winter. Yet Samhain survives mostly as costume parties, whereas the Qiang rite is still a living religious act.

There is a Chinese twist as well. The same date is the Han Chinese Hanyi festival, when families burn paper winter clothes for their ancestors. So on one day, two neighbors mark the coming cold in very different ways. For the bigger calendar picture, see our comparison of Chinese Lunar New Year vs Western New Year.

Where to See Qiang New Year in 2026

In 2026, the first day of the tenth lunar month is Monday, 9 November. Bigger towns often stretch the program over several days around that date. Programs for 2026 had not been published when this guide was written, so check local announcements first.

Wenchuan and Maoxian

Aba Prefecture runs the largest public events. In 2025, Wenchuan hosted a street parade with eight Qiang counties and five foreign art troupes, plus an open-air village feast (Li & Zhou, 2025). Our guide to the Wenchuan special tourist area covers transport, food and the rebuilt towns. Farther up the valley, Maoxian is the official home of the festival. Its Ancient Qiang City, on the cover of this post, includes the Silver Turtle Temple, a center of Qiang folk religion consecrated in 2013–2014.

Beichuan

Beichuan, under Mianyang, is China’s only Qiang autonomous county. The old county town was wrecked in 2008, and a new one was built nearby. In 2025, more than 10,000 locals and visitors danced around a bonfire on its main square (Li & Zhou, 2025).

Practical tips

  • Getting there: most trips start in Chengdu. Wenchuan is a few hours away by road; Beichuan is easier from Mianyang.
  • Weather: it is early winter in the mountains. Days can be mild, but nights get cold, so pack layers.
  • Photos: the mountain rite is a religious act. Ask before photographing the shibi, and keep a respectful distance.
  • Joining in: the Salang circle is usually open. If someone hands you a zajiu straw, take a sip.
  • Language: English is rare. A translation app helps a lot.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Qiang New Year in 2026?

Monday, 9 November 2026, the first day of the tenth lunar month. Celebrations often run three to five days.

Is Qiang New Year still on UNESCO’s urgent list?

No. It was inscribed there in 2009 and moved to the Representative List in December 2024.

Is it the same as Chinese New Year?

No. Chinese New Year falls in late winter. The Qiang festival comes in autumn, after the harvest.

Can foreigners attend?

Generally, yes. The public parades and bonfire dances welcome visitors. Village rites are more private, so follow your host’s lead.

A Thanksgiving That Outlasted the Quake

Heritage lists can read like warnings. This one reads more like a recovery story. A festival that lost villages and elders in 2008 is now taught in classrooms and danced in town squares. Of course, fifteen years of work does not make a small culture safe forever. Still, the white stones are back on the rooftops. For more living traditions, see our guide to intangible cultural heritage in China.

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