Confucius Culture Festival of Jianshui County, Honghe

Chinese Name: 建水孔子文化节
English Name: Confucius Culture Festival of Jianshui County, Honghe
Location: Jianshui County, Honghe
Date: 27 Sep.-7 Oct.
Place: Jianshui County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture

Jianshui is a place where Central Plains culture blends with the cultures of ethnic minorities from the border regions. The Jianshui Confucian Temple, which has a history of over 500 years, is an important carrier for the widespread dissemination of Confucian culture in Jianshui. As a result, Jianshui has traditionally upheld Confucianism, earning it the reputation as a famous county for poetry and literature, and a land of rites and etiquette.

Jianshui County in the south of Yunnan has the third largest Confucius Temple in China. The opening ceremony will take place in front of the Chaoyang Pavilion which is nicknamed “the Lesser Tian’anmen Pavilion”. A series of activities will be organised in the Confucius Temple (Sacrificial Ceremony), Jianshui County Stadium (Gala Evening), Fudong Temple (Chinese Traditional Culture Forum), and Jianshui Cultural Museum (Purple Pottery Exhibition).

*Travel Route: Kunming–Yuxi–Tonghai—Jianshui; or Kunming—Stone Forest—Jianshui

To solemnly commemorate Confucius, the founder of the Confucian school of thought, Jianshui County has designated September 28 each year since 2005 as the “China Honghe · Jianshui Confucius Cultural Festival.” The theme of the festival is “Worship the Eternal Master of Huaxia, Showcase the Civilization of Jianshui Through the Ages.” During the event, there are grand opening ceremonies and traditional Confucius worship ceremonies. In 2005, the Confucius worship activities during the Jianshui Confucius Cultural Festival became one of five points for the live broadcast of “Global Chinese Worship Confucius” by China Central Television (CCTV). Its culturally distinctive worship activities attracted widespread attention both domestically and abroad. In 2006, the Jianshui Confucius Cultural Festival was held concurrently with the celebration of the 1200th anniversary of Jianshui’s establishment, featuring activities such as “CCTV Goes to Jianshui, Confucius Worship Ceremony, Selection of Jianshui’s Top Ten Historical Cultural Figures, and Top Ten Historical Events” which were broadcast live by Xinhua News Agency. During the third Confucius Cultural Festival in 2007, Jianshui hosted the “Entering Jianshui, Approaching Confucius” Confucian Thought Forum, where renowned scholar Kong Qingdong gave a lecture at the Jianshui Confucian Temple, garnering significant media attention. In 2008, the fourth “China Honghe · Jianshui Confucius Cultural Festival” was held, followed by the fifth festival in 2009.

Since the inception of the Jianshui Confucius Cultural Festival, its grand scale, rich ethnic characteristics, traditional worship ceremonies, and other cultural and commercial activities have driven the development of cultural tourism throughout the county, enhancing the cultural prominence of Jianshui County. With the guiding principle of “Commemorating the Ancestors, Propagating Civilization,” the Jianshui Confucius Cultural Festival has thus become a well-known “cultural business card” for Jianshui.