5-Day Huangshan Spring Festival Tour

Arrive in downtown Huangshan, then experience the handcrafting of fragrant sachet pendants in person. Made from natural aromatic herbs and traditional Chinese medicinal materials, these sachets offer health benefits such as calming the mind. The patterns on the sachets usually feature auspicious motifs and characters, making them popular decorations during the Spring Festival. Later, wander through Tunxi Old Street, where the ancient Huizhou-style buildings are adorned with red lanterns, creating a strong festive atmosphere for the Spring Festival.

Auspicious Patterns & Characters on Fragrant Sachet Pendants

Learn About the Culture Behind Fragrant Sachets

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Make fragrant sachets by hand and experience the skills of traditional Chinese craftsmanship. Wander around Tunxi Old Street and fully immerse yourself in the simple charm of Huizhou-style architecture and the festive Spring Festival vibe of the old street.

Educational Focus:

What are the New Year customs in the Huizhou region?

Takeaway:

New Year customs in the Huizhou region include eating glutinous rice balls, decorating streets with lanterns and colored streamers, dragon and lion dances, and lantern parades (such as fish lantern shows and bench dragon shows). Some villages also hold lantern fairs, all of which are done to pray for family reunion and prosperity, reflecting the Huizhou people’s aspiration for a better life.

Thought Challenge:

How can the traditional Spring Festival customs of Tunxi Old Street attract young travelers through innovative interactive forms to achieve the living inheritance of traditional culture?

It is a local tradition to climb Huangshan Mountain to pray for blessings during the Spring Festival. Head to Huangshan Scenic Area and experience this New Year custom in person. You can take the Yungu Cableway to ascend the mountain, visit highlight spots including Shixin Peak, North Sea Scenic Area, Bright Summit and Jade Screen Tower, and admire the snow-and-ice-covered exotic pines, grotesque rocks and sea of clouds. After descending the mountain, go to a hot spring resort and soak yourself in the hot spring to relieve the fatigue from hiking.

Snow-Covered Pines

Ice-Clad Grotesque Rocks

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Climb Huangshan Mountain and feast your eyes on the fairy-tale-like scenery woven by exotic pines, grotesque rocks and the sea of clouds; soak in a hot spring and enjoy a relaxing time that soothes both your body and mind.

Educational Focus:

What is the significance of climbing Huangshan Mountain during the Spring Festival for local people?

Takeaway:

Many people choose to climb Huangshan Mountain during the Spring Festival, which symbolizes "climbing high to look far" in the new year. It is a way to pray for peace, health and smoothness, hoping that life will be as magnificent and beautiful as the scenery of Huangshan Mountain. Watching the sunrise on the mountain top and greeting the first ray of sunshine of the new year is also regarded as a ritual full of hope and blessings.

Thought Challenge:

How to integrate the natural scenery of Huangshan Mountain with Spring Festival folk customs to create more attractive immersive cultural tourism products that meet the diverse needs of modern tourists?

In the morning, head to Hongcun Village. Wander through the ancient alleys and admire the Huizhou-style architecture featuring white walls, gray tiles and horse-head gables. During the Spring Festival, red lanterns are hung high, reflecting in the water like a traditional ink wash painting. Next, you will experience fish lantern making in person—follow a master craftsman to paint a fish lantern with your own hands, which carries the Huizhou people’s yearning and prayers for a better life.

Make a Fish Lantern

Fish Lantern Works

In the afternoon, travel to Nanping Ancient Village and make a New Year’s Eve dinner by yourself. Pick vegetables from the vegetable garden, then under the guidance of local villagers, cook traditional Huizhou dishes on the earthen stoves in ancient dwellings. In the evening, sit around a round table with your family, taste the dishes you made yourself, and feel the warm reunion atmosphere of the Spring Festival.

Cook on Traditional Wood-Fired Stoves

Taste Homemade New Year’s Eve Dinner

During the Spring Festival, Nanping Ancient Village often holds traditional folk parades. You may have the chance to watch fish lantern parades, dragon and lion dances, and other activities. You can join in, carry the fish lantern you made, walk through the ancient alleys, and immerse yourself in the lively Spring Festival vibe.

Lively Fish Lantern Parade

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Wander around Hongcun and fully immerse yourself in the Spring Festival atmosphere of the Huizhou-style village; make a fish lantern by hand and experience the charm of traditional Huizhou folk craftsmanship. In the afternoon, visit Nanping Ancient Village, participate in making New Year’s Eve dinner, and feel the warmth of family reunion and the joy of traditional New Year customs.

Educational Focus:

What regional cultural connotations and folk wisdom do fish lantern making and fish lantern parades carry?

Takeaway:

The Huizhou fish lantern is an intangible cultural heritage craft symbolizing reunion and good fortune. Its production process integrates various skills such as bamboo weaving, paper cutting and painting, resulting in vivid fish shapes with bright and gorgeous colors. On festivals or special occasions, people hold fish lanterns and perform joyful fish lantern dances to express their love for life and best wishes for the future.

Thought Challenge:

How to present intangible cultural heritage crafts and traditional folk customs like New Year’s Eve dinner in Huizhou ancient villages through youthful expressions to attract more young tourists and realize the living inheritance of folk culture?

In the morning, visit Huizhou Ancient City, one of China’s Four Great Ancient Cities. During the Spring Festival, the ancient city hosts folk performances, where you may have the chance to watch the lively dragon and lion dances. Afterwards, head to Huizhou Culture Museum. By viewing the exhibits, you can learn about Huizhou’s history and architectural art. The museum is also decorated with Spring Festival couplets, lanterns and silk balls for tourists to take photos with.

Huizhou Ancient City During Spring Festival

In the afternoon, participate in the Shitao (local pastry) making experience activity. "Making Shitao" is a traditional custom in Huizhou during the Spring Festival, and you will make this auspicious delicacy with your own hands. Under the guidance of an instructor, you will knead glutinous rice flour, shape the dough into balls, press them into molds to form patterns, and finally taste the food you made to feel the joy of labor.

Your Journey’s Rewards:

Explore the ancient city to learn about the Spring Festival traditions in Huizhou; gain an in-depth understanding of local culture in Huizhou Culture Museum. Participate in Shitao making and experience the craftsmanship of traditional Huizhou pastries firsthand.

Educational Focus:

What folk wisdom and emotional sustenance are embodied in the custom of making Shitao?

Takeaway:

Originally a staple food for Huizhou merchants in ancient times, Shitao has now become a festive delicacy. Its production process integrates woodcarving and rice flour shaping techniques, and the auspicious patterns on the molds convey people’s good wishes for the new year. Local people often invite neighbors to join in making Shitao, which has thus become a bond for maintaining neighborhood relationships and inheriting local culture.

Thought Challenge:

As more people prefer working and living in cities, how can traditional crafts like "Shitao making" in rural areas be preserved and passed down?

In the morning, check out of the hotel and head to the station or airport for departure, accompanied by your tour guide and driver.