On the evening of August 8, the 2026 Liangshan Yi Torch Festival reached its climax. At approximately 8 p.m., 86 bonfires were lit simultaneously along the eastern extension of Hangtian Avenue in Xichang. With tens of thousands of torches held aloft, the 3.2-kilometer-long street was transformed into a sea of joy.

Torch Festival Carnival

Amid the spreading sparks, people of all ethnic groups and tourists gathered around the fires to sing and dance. Ancient blessing rituals and exuberant celebrations complemented each other, as the Yi Torch Festival, a national-level intangible cultural heritage item, radiated new-era brilliance against the midsummer night sky.

People of all ethnic groups gather in celebration.

Under the theme of "Passionate Torch Festival: The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style," Xichang delved deep into its cultural core and pioneered a dual-IP integration model combining a music festival with torch festivities. The event integrated intangible cultural heritage performances, trendy music, citywide parades, and cultural, commercial, and tourism consumption.

Folk Music Performance

From August 6 to 7, the "Echo of Mountains" Music Festival at Xingyue Lake Park featured renowned artists such as Xu Wei and Lao Lang. Bringing together folk and rock genres, the event precisely targeted young, trend-conscious audiences.

Tourists pose for photos holding torches

Prior to the main celebration on Hangtian Avenue, events began at 4 p.m., featuring a grand Yi welcome ceremony in traditional attire, an ethnic costume show, and a parade showcasing "Duolehe," an intangible cultural heritage performance. Themed formations representing unity and aerospace included researchers, intangible cultural heritage inheritors, and model workers marching in sequence, highlighting Xichang's ethnic solidarity and technological innovation. Chen Yu, a tourist from Chengdu, praised the exceptional atmosphere, noting that posing for photos in traditional ethnic costumes produced highly photogenic results.

Torches are lit

Leveraging the Torch Festival IP, scenic spots such as Jianchang Ancient City and Tangyuan Garden coordinated efforts to attract visitors, driving robust nighttime sales of Yi cuisine, intangible cultural heritage creative products, and local agricultural specialties. This synergy has achieved the goal of using festivals to boost culture, tourism, and commerce, further burnishing the city's brand as "China's Aerospace City and Sunshine Wellness Destination."

Torch Festival Carnival

Xichang is now accelerating the formation of a new paradigm for integrated cultural and tourism development. Grounded in local culture and ecology, and supported by major projects and innovative business models, the city is improving public services and cultivating new growth drivers such as wellness tourism for seniors. Looking ahead, Xichang plans to coordinate the development of its aerospace, sunshine, and folk custom resources while fostering emerging sectors including low-altitude sightseeing, aerospace metaverse study tours, and nighttime consumption.

Torch Festival Carnival

Torch Festival Carnival

【本文部分内容由AI辅助生成，特此声明。The author(s) generated part of the content in this work with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), which is hereby declared.】