Guangxi has new holiday to sing about

Residents of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region are enjoying a new two-day official holiday the local government is offering in the hope it will encourage participation in an annual ethnic minority singing festival.

On the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar, crowds traditionally gather to sing in the antiphonal (call-and-answer) style, with the occasion a time for locals to find love and make new friends.

It is observed by more than 27 million people of the Zhuang, Yao, Miao, Dong and Mulam ethnic groups in Guangxi, or half the region's population.