August 19, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, saw the “Wholehearted Love in Xinfu” edition of the national “Our Festival: Qixi” event open at the central square of Qicun Town (奇村镇) in Xinfu District, Xinzhou (忻州市), Shanxi. The program began with a parade of 150 Hanfu enthusiasts organized into Tang-style, Song-style and Ming-style formations, which wound through the square and neighboring streets before a crowd of local residents and tourists. Spectators lined the route with phones raised, and the three formations became the most photographed sight of the day.
Program Numbers
Performances filled the main stage from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the square’s main stage. The folk music ensemble of Xinzhou No. 1 Vocational Secondary School opened with a combined instrumental piece, “Ascending the Spring Hill,” and the program continued with roughly 16 more numbers: the dances “Ode to Rivers and Mountains,” “Qixi Elegance,” “Powder and Ink: An Age of Opera,” “Ode to the Star River,” “Hibiscus Like Brocade, Flowers Filling the City,” “Rowing Through Misty Rain,” “The Weaver Girl,” “Ode to the Orange Tree” and “Grain in Ear”; the recited Song poem “Moon over the West River: Night Travel on the Yellow Sands Road”; the skits “The Qixi Magpie-Bridge Reunion” and “Immortals at the Magpie Bridge”; a guzheng ensemble of “Double-Faced Yan Xun” (双面燕洵); the song “Fairy Match”; a Hanfu show, “The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl on the River of Longing”; and a closing ensemble piece, “Blue and White Porcelain.” Performers included Liu Xiaojing, Yang Tingyue, Kang Yun, Yang Xiaoyan, Zhao Lihong, He Peng, Zhao Chenghui, Wang Ting, Ren Qiuling, Wang Yaping, Hou Wuhua, Wang Yun, Li Lu, Lü Jingrong, Tian Yuening, Shi Xiaoli, Zhao Xiumin and Guo Na, alongside students of the Duwei Art School. A secondary performance zone added a drum dance, a parade of Yue Lao (月老), the matchmaker god, staged scenes from Journey to the West, folk Shehuo (社火) troupes and calligraphy and painting displays.
A heritage craft zone with 12 local trades anchored the Qixi culture fair, from paper-cutting and dough figurines to embroidery, gourd pyrography, Huamo (花馍) flower buns, bead stringing, carving, silhouette cutting, peasant paintings, Chinese ink painting and sugar painting. Under the guidance of inheritors, many visitors tried their own hands at the crafts, from cutting paper silhouettes to shaping dough figurines, and left with homemade Qixi souvenirs. Seven interactive games — Qixi riddles, Touhu (投壶) pitch-pot, “Lucky Ping-Pong,” wood carving, dough figurine making, dragon dance and duck ring-toss — ran alongside two themed photo spots. Yue Lao’s street stroll, handing out blessings, kept the atmosphere light through the afternoon.
Organizers and Follow-Up
The event was hosted by the Publicity Department of the Xinfu District Committee, organized by the district civilization office and co-organized by Qicun Town’s New Era Civilization Practice Center. Officials framed it as a way to carry the Qixi customs into rural cultural tourism, promoting faithful love and family virtue while drawing visitors to the town. The district said it will continue to plan festival-themed activities around traditional holidays to support the integration of culture and tourism.