The Munao Zongge Festival is an important festival for the Jingpo ethnic group, a people who largely reside in southwest China.
Jingpo women perform Yinpao dance at Jingpo Park. /CGTN Photo
Dubbed the “dance of paradise,” the festival falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month, and is the most important music pageant for the Jingpo people. It was even listed as one of China’s Intangible Cultural Heritages in 2006.
Known as the home of the festival, Longchuan County has about 10,000 Jingpo people, accounting for 95 percent of the ethnic group's population in China.
Thousands take part in the festival each year, coming together to celebrate and pray for a good harvest.
Jingpo women perform Yinpao dance at Jingpo Park. /CGTN Photo
The traditional Jingpo performance includes a sword dance, popular among the men.
Meanwhile, the Yinpao dance emphasizes the beauty of the Jingpo women, as the dance imitates a peacock spreading its tail.
The Jingpo have a rich cultural heritage through their own language, music, and folk customs. The song "Password of the Mountains," performed in the video by the Jingpo Boys, expresses their respect for nature.
Jingpo men perform sword dance at Jingpo Park in Longchuan County. /CGTN Photo