1. Cultural Background & Significance
Sanyuejie (三月街), also known as the Third Month Fair or the Guan Yin Market, is the most celebrated traditional festival of the Bai ethnic group, centered around ancient Dali in Yunnan province. Usually starting on the 15th day of the third lunar month, it is an extraordinary seven-to-ten-day gathering that combines a millennial trade fair with exhilarating athletic competitions and arts.
The vibrant atmosphere of Sanyuejie is defined by three cultural highlights:
苍山赛马 Fearless riders race horseback across scenic tracks at the foot of towering Cangshan Mountain.
千年商市 A sprawling open-air market trading medicinal herbs, tea, handicrafts, and agricultural goods.
白剧对调 Impromptu antiphonal singing and Bai Opera performances echoing across Erhai Lake.
2. Lifestyle, Diet & Customs
Sanyuejie is famously known by the local saying: “Singing for a thousand years, trading for a thousand years (千年赶一街，一街赶千年).”
🍵 Festive Feasts
Bai festival cuisine highlights fresh lake ingredients and complex, savory sour-spicy flavors:
- Dali Sour Fish (大理酸辣鱼): Carps freshly caught from Erhai Lake stewed with green plums, papaya, and chili for an appetizing sour-spicy broth.
- Raw Hide (生皮 - Shengpi): A traditional Dali delicacy of finely sliced flame-roasted pork dipped in plum vinegar and chili sauce.
- Three-Course Tea (三道茶): A ceremonial tea service symbolizing life’s philosophy: “First bitter, second sweet, third lingering (一苦二甜三回味).”
🏮 Folk Rituals
Millions of merchants and visitors gather west of Dali Old Town. During the day, crowds surround the racetrack to cheer on Tibetan, Bai, and Naxi horsemen, or browse stalls selling precious cordyceps and Pu’er tea. As twilight falls, young men and women gather under the moonlight for “Dabi” (打歌)—circle dances accompanied by the Sanxian (three-stringed lute).
📜 Myth & Origins
According to Bai folklore, the Bodhisattva Guan Yin once subdued a tyrannical demon named Luocha who enslaved Dali. To commemorate the day Guan Yin freed the valley (the 15th day of the third lunar month), local villagers gathered annually to offer sacrifices, which gradually evolved into a massive regional trade and cultural festival during the Tang and Song dynasties.
3. Heritage & Modern Celebration
Today, Sanyuejie is a statutory holiday for the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture. Recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, it remains a magnificent living crossroad of ethnic economic exchange and joyful artistic tradition along the ancient Tea Horse Road.