The Zhuang love to sing, a fact known far and wide. They use songs to describe objects and events, and to express their happiness or sorrow. Down through the generations, the Zhuang have developed the tradition of making friends, choosing competent persons, expressing love and selecting spouses through song. Over time, the Singing Festival has taken shape.
On the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month, every place in the waterlogged countryside in Guangxi becomes a sea of songs. The country folks, pour into the fair from all directions, bringing with them homemade colorful glutinous rice and eggs. At the fair, they first offer sacrifices to the Singing Goddess, Third Sister Liu, begging her to bestow them with more singing talent. In the minds of the Zhuang, the legendary Sister Liu is the embodiment of beauty and love as well as wisdom and courage. The Singing Festival is in fact held in her honor.
Having paid homage to the Singing Goddess, the people engage in antiphonal singing, either as duets or in groups. Incredibly, the songs are concocted on the spot, and the singing goes on until one party admits defeat. Many of the songs are witty and humorous, often giving rise to massive laugher in the audience.
In fact, this day has become the Zhuangs"Valentines Day". Through song, the young man finds his love and the girl secretly gives her beloved a colorful silk ball an accepted token of love, comprising 12 parts like flower petals, each representing one month,
The Singing Festival usually last several days. In recent years, the government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has made it the Guangxi International Folk Song Singing Festival, which draws great singers from throughout the country and even the world to the region.
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