From July 26 to 28, the "Pomegranate Blossoms · Huanglong Temple Fair", hosted by the Huanglong Scenic Area, was held at the Huanglong Back Temple Square. As a representative item on Sichuan Province's provincial-level intangible cultural heritage list, this year's fair featured diverse activities including live intangible cultural heritage performances, traditional prayer ceremonies, and interactive parades showcasing traditional Chinese culture. These events integrated ecological sightseeing, folk festivals, and ancient town tourism, injecting new vitality into the summer tourism market.

A scene at the Huanglong Temple Fair

The history of the Huanglong Temple Fair dates back to the Ming Dynasty, originating from folk worship of the Immortal Huanglong. After centuries of evolution, this traditional folk activity has developed from an initial expression of faith into a comprehensive cultural platform featuring the integration and coexistence of multiple ethnic cultures, including Tibetan, Qiang, Hui, and Han. In 2023, the Huanglong Temple Fair was included in the sixth batch of Sichuan Province's provincial-level intangible cultural heritage representative items; in 2024, it was selected as an outstanding case of integrating intangible cultural heritage with tourism in Sichuan Province.

A scene at the Huanglong Temple Fair

Themed "Pomegranate Blossoms Promote Culture and Tourism; Intangible Heritage Exhibitions Continue Tradition", this year's fair featured five booths dedicated to national-level intangible cultural heritage. A representative inheritor of Ningxia Hui paper-cutting created exquisite cultural and creative products on-site; representative inheritors of Maoxian Qiang embroidery and the Qiang flute performed in turn, with the melodious sounds of the ancient Qiang flute echoing through the valley; Tibetan artisans from Songpan demonstrated hand-painted Thang-ga and traditional Tibetan incense making, allowing visitors to observe up close and participate in interactive experiences.

On July 28, the main day of the fair, the event reached its climax. At 10:00 a.m., the bell-ringing ceremony commenced. Following the eye-dotting ritual for the "Yellow Dragon", the Tongliang national-level intangible cultural heritage dragon dance team took the stage, while folk singers from Aba County sang traditional Tibetan mountain songs from western Sichuan, and the Qiang flute from Maoxian evoked echoes of antiquity. The scenic area also distributed free "peace and auspiciousness fruits" to visitors to convey blessings. Toward the end of the event, people of all ethnic groups joined tourists in dancing the Tibetan and Qiang Guozhuang circle dance, unfolding a heartwarming picture of great ethnic unity amid the snow-capped mountains and colorful pools.

During the temple fair, eight non-player characters (NPCs), including the Immortal Huanglong, Yu the Great, and the Fairy of Yaochi, paraded through the Back Temple and Five-Color Pond areas, interacting with visitors and distributing lucky blessing bags. Cultural performances such as guzheng exhibitions and dance shows were held intermittently. The fusion of ancient intangible cultural heritage with modern "Guochao" (China chic) expressions attracted large numbers of young tourists to stop and take photos.

A relevant official from the Huanglong Scenic Area stated that the area will continue to deepen the integrated development model of "summer sightseeing + intangible cultural heritage experience + folk festivals". By leveraging the cool ecological advantages of plateau forests and the colorful pools of Yaochi to meet the summer retreat demands of the Sichuan-Chongqing region, and by concentrating on displaying the diverse intangible cultural heritage skills of the Tibetan, Qiang, Hui, and Han peoples, the scenic area aims to drive mutual growth in cultural inheritance and tourism consumption through the integration of culture and tourism.

【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.】