August 19th is the Qixi Festival. The annual 'Ingenuity Competition Festival' was held on the 18th in Nalian Street, Menglian Village, Pumiao Town, Yongning District, Nanning City, Guangxi. Local villagers set up 'flower displays' at their doorsteps, and one after another, ingenious handicrafts earned praises from passing tourists.
According to local legend, every year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Seven Fairies descend to Baishitan by the Bachijiang River on Nalian Old Street to bathe and choose the most skillful women. On the night before Qixi, local women display their handmade crafts at their doors to welcome the meeting of Cowherd and Weaver Girl at the Magpie Bridge.
The 'Ingenuity Competition Festival' has a history of over 200 years and has made it onto the list of representative intangible cultural heritage projects at the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region level.
'Grain Painting' is a traditional folk craft handed down on Nalian Street, using grains as the main material. Artists dip glue and arrange the grains one by one onto a sketched paper or white silk. Embroidered balls, flowers and birds, figures, and pastoral scenes then leap vividly onto the canvas.
At the event, elderly 'skillful women' with white hair sat composedly in front of their tables, deftly sewing with flying needles and threads. Meanwhile, children still showing their youthfulness leaned over tables to paint, and young women gathered in groups around artisans to ask for tips and learn techniques.
The 'Ingenuity Competition Festival' is not only a gathering for craftspeople, but is also becoming a new calling card for the integration of local culture and tourism. On that day, the ritual for blessing and carrying water was held splendidly at the Nalian Pier by the Bachijiang River. Local women, dressed as 'Skillful Sisters,' carried wooden buckets on their shoulders, walked to the riverbank, drew 'Water of the Seven Fairies,' and prayed for favorable weather and national prosperity and peace. The ceremony included a visitor participation segment, where many tourists tried shouldering buckets themselves to experience the quaint sense of ritual.
The event also featured a 'Worship Seven Sisters' ritual, folk cultural performances, and other segments, with traditional charm and a festive atmosphere interwoven, immersing tourists in the celebration.