While many single men and women in China tried to escape the blind dates their relatives set up during Spring Festival, the young people of a remote village in southwest China’s Yunnan Province attended a local mass-dating event, following a tradition that dates back about 1,350 years.
Saizhuang Jie, or the “costume competition festival”, is held in Yongren county in Yunnan’s Chuxiong Yi autonomous prefecture each year on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
It originated in Zhiju, a small mountainous village that is home to the Yi ethnic group.
The festival serves as a showcase for the beauty and talents of local women in addition to being a meeting place for young people.
On this special day, the women put on handmade costumes bearing delicate embroidery to attend an outdoor dance ceremony, described by locals as among the “oldest catwalks”.