The Earth’s Table in the Depths of the Ailao Mountains

Cultural Story

The Long Street Banquet is a grand Hani ritual connecting heaven, earth, and community, listed as Yunnan Intangible Cultural Heritage. Its core is sharing and blessing. During major festivals like the October New Year, the village feast lines the main street like a dragon. Presided by the elder “Migu,” the whole village eats and drinks together, celebrating harvests and praying for the coming year.

Exclusive Experiences

1. What special dishes are needed before the feast starts? At dawn, we enter a Hani home. You’ll help the housewife dye glutinous rice with auspicious colors using mountain plants and personally pound a bowl of authentic Hani dipping sauce.
2. What order do table-setting and rituals follow? In the afternoon, you can help villagers set tables. Then, quietly observe the elder “Migu” presiding over the opening ritual at the feast’s “dragon head,” receiving and drinking a bowl of blessed mountain spring water from him.
3. Any special rules for eating along the long street? When the feast begins, first taste the central plate of “shared meat” symbolizing unity. Then, bowl in hand, freely walk the street, invited to taste each family’s specialties like cured meat and terraced fish.
4. How can I join their song and dance when spirits are high? Exchange toasts of home-brewed Menguo wine with Hani villagers. When music starts, people join hands in the Lezuo dance. Follow the simple steps to blend into this joyful circle.
5. What’s the village like after the bonfire is lit? At nightfall, the bonfire ignites. Young men and women sit singing traditional songs. Under firelight and stars, feel the mountain’s sincerity and peace.