Xibe people in Shenyang celebrate Spring Festival

Xibe people in Shenyang, the capital of Northeast China’s Liaoning province, held a celebration in the city Jan 18, to welcome the upcoming Spring Festival, which falls on Jan 25.

Xibe people from all walks of life participated in the event, staging performances featuring their ethnic culture.

The Xibe ethnic group originated in Northeast China, mostly living in the Greater Hinggan Mountains in ancient times.

Now there are more than 190,000 Xibe people in China, mostly living in Qapqal Xibe autonomous county in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and in Shenbei new district in Shenyang.

Sun Xingwu, director of Shenyang Xibe people fellowship, said that in recent years, Shenyang has tried many means to promote Xibe culture, such as integrating it with rural tourism and building a Xibe museum.

According to Sun, the China Xibe Museum, which opened July 26, 2018, received 120,000 visitors in 2019, which helped to promote Xibe culture to more people.

Galaha, a Xibe folk game, has been listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Liaoning province, and in the future, the fellowship will host more cultural activities to promote their unique culture, Sun added.

Xibe people in Shenyang stage a cultural performance in Shenyang Jan 18 to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival. [Photo by Li Hao/Shenyang Daily]