The Huizhou Cultural Tourism Festival is the premier cultural event in the region and the most accessible festival for international visitors. Organised by the Huangshan Municipal Government and the Anhui Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, this multi-week festival features an extensive programme designed to showcase the full breadth of Huizhou culture. Highlights include Hui opera (徽剧) performances — a UNESCO-recognised intangible cultural heritage — at historic ancestral halls repurposed as outdoor theatres, Huizhou ink-making demonstrations by master artisans from Shexian’s most renowned workshops, curated exhibitions of Huizhou architecture, traditional furniture, and scholar’s objects at the Anhui China Huizhou Museum, woodblock printing (徽州木版年画) workshops where visitors can create their own prints under the guidance of master printers, guided heritage walks through Hongcun, Xidi, and Shexian led by architectural historians, and Huizhou cuisine (徽菜) tasting events at the festival’s dedicated food pavilion.

The festival publishes an English-language programme schedule each year, distributes maps, and stations English-speaking volunteers at major venues. For foreign visitors, this festival provides the broadest and most structured introduction to Huizhou culture. The festival typically opens with a grand ceremony at the Huizhou Government Office in Shexian, featuring traditional music, costume parades, and a lantern-lighting event. Many of the festival’s workshops and demonstrations are hands-on, making this an excellent choice for families and visitors who prefer interactive cultural experiences.

Foreign visitor tips: Book accommodation in Tunxi (Huangshan city) or Shexan ancient city 4–6 weeks in advance. Purchase a festival pass (¥150–300) which covers entry to most event venues. Arrive by mid-morning to catch the opening ceremonies and demonstrations. Evening Hui opera performances are particularly atmospheric and highly recommended.

Held in the historic county seat of Shexian — the ancient capital of Huizhou — this festival offers a more intimate, authentic experience than the larger Huangshan-based festival. Shexian, with its preserved Ming dynasty city wall, stone archways, and the magnificent Huizhou Government Office complex, provides a historically immersive setting. The festival focuses more heavily on the literati traditions of Huizhou — ink, inkstone, calligraphy, and painting — making it particularly appealing to artistically inclined visitors. Special exhibitions of the finest She inkstones and Huizhou ink sticks are displayed in the ancient examination halls, with master carvers demonstrating their craft live. The festival’s signature event is the “Night of a Thousand Lanterns” along the Xin’an River waterfront, where floating lanterns with calligraphic inscriptions are released onto the water. Traditional Huizhou wedding processions are re-enacted through the city streets, complete with sedan chairs, traditional costumes, and ceremonial music. For photography enthusiasts, this festival provides extraordinary documentation opportunities against the backdrop of Shexian’s unmodified ancient cityscape.

Foreign visitor tips: Stay within the Shexian Ancient City walls for the most immersive experience. The festival has fewer English-speaking staff than the larger Huangshan festival, so carrying a translation app is advisable. The ink and inkstone market held during the festival is the best place outside of permanent workshops to purchase authentic Huizhou calligraphy implements at fair prices.

Spring Festival in Huizhou is a profoundly immersive experience. The ancient villages — usually tourist-focused — transform back into living communities as families return from cities across China to their ancestral homes. The narrow alleyways are hung with red lanterns, doorways display freshly pasted spring couplets (春联) written by local calligraphers, and the fragrance of cooking Huizhou New Year delicacies fills the air. This is the most culturally authentic time to visit Huizhou, but also the most logistically challenging. Key Spring Festival traditions in Huizhou include: making traditional Huizhou New Year cakes (徽州年糕) from glutinous rice, ancestral hall ceremonies where clan members gather to pay respects to their ancestors — a practice that vividly illustrates the clan-based social structure that shaped Huizhou architecture, temple fairs (庙会) in Shexian and Tunxi with folk performances, lion dances, and local snacks, and fireworks and firecracker displays on New Year’s Eve. The villages of Hongcun and Xidi are decorated with special Spring Festival illuminations.

Foreign visitor tips: Book accommodation at least 2–3 months in advance — this is the busiest travel period in China. Many restaurants and small businesses close during the first 3–5 days of the New Year, so prepare accordingly. This festival is best for experienced China travellers who are comfortable with limited services and large crowds. The reward is an authentic cultural experience that few international tourists witness. The Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao, 15th day of the lunar new year) which concludes the Spring Festival period, features spectacular lantern displays in Tunxi Old Street and Shexian.

Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Festival) is one of the most culturally significant observances in Huizhou. The region’s strong clan traditions make this a particularly important time for ancestral veneration. Foreign visitors can observe — and with permission, participate in — the rituals performed at the magnificent ancestral halls (祠堂) that are the architectural heart of every Huizhou village. The festival offers unique access to ancestral halls that may be closed to the public during other times of the year. Families bring offerings of food, tea, and paper money, and perform the traditional three-kneel-nine-bow (三跪九叩) ceremony. During Qingming, the hillsides surrounding the villages are dotted with people tending family graves, creating a poignant cultural landscape that connects the living with their ancestors — a connection that has defined Huizhou society for a thousand years. The festival occurs during spring’s peak beauty, with rapeseed flowers in full bloom, making for spectacular photography.

Foreign visitor tips: This festival is best approached with a respectful, observant mindset. Photography of ceremonies should be discreet and always preceded by asking permission. Hiring a local guide who can explain the rituals and introduce you to village elders is highly recommended. Avoid scheduling major sightseeing during Qingming itself, as transport is extremely congested — fly into Huangshan Tunxi International Airport 1–2 days before and plan to stay in the region for the duration.

Huizhou is the birthplace of Huangshan Maofeng (黄山毛峰) — one of China’s most famous green teas — as well as Taiping Houkui (太平猴魁) and Qimen Hongcha (祁门红茶, Keemun black tea). The Tea-Picking Festival celebrates the spring tea harvest with activities that are both culturally enriching and sensorially delightful. Visitors can participate in tea-picking sessions on the terraced slopes of Huangshan’s foothills — the very same slopes that have supplied emperors with tea for centuries. Master tea processors demonstrate the techniques of killing-green (杀青), rolling (揉捻), and drying (烘干) that transform fresh leaves into finished tea. Traditional tea ceremonies in historic Huizhou courtyard settings provide an intimate encounter with tea culture. The festival also includes a tea market where visitors can purchase fresh-picked, first-flush Huangshan Maofeng directly from producers — a prized acquisition for tea connoisseurs. Many tea plantations offer homestay experiences where visitors can stay in farmhouses, participate in the full daily cycle of tea production, and enjoy farm-to-table Huizhou home cooking.

Foreign visitor tips: The tea harvest season coincides with the rapeseed flower bloom, making this one of the most visually beautiful periods in Huizhou. The combination of terraced tea gardens and yellow flower fields against white-walled villages is unforgettable. Accommodation in tea villages fills quickly — book at least one month ahead. The festival is particularly suitable for slow travellers who want to spend several days in one location absorbing rural Huizhou life.

For calligraphy enthusiasts and those fascinated by traditional craftsmanship, the Huizhou Ink Culture Festival is unmissable. Held in Shexian — the historic centre of Huizhou ink production — this festival gathers master ink makers (墨工) from workshops that have operated continuously for centuries. Visitors can watch the entire ink-making process from soot collection to moulding, drying, and gilding. The festival includes competitions for the finest new ink sticks, exhibitions of antique ink from museum collections, calligraphy demonstrations by master calligraphers using freshly ground Huizhou ink, and a market where workshop-direct sales offer significant savings over retail prices. The highlight for many visitors is the opportunity to commission a custom ink stick with a personal calligraphic design or seal — a truly unique souvenir that embodies Huizhou’s millennium-old craft tradition.

Foreign visitor tips: This festival draws serious collectors and calligraphers from across East Asia. Basic knowledge of calligraphy or ink-making will substantially enhance your appreciation. Several workshops offer English-language tours during the festival period if arranged in advance through the Shexian Tourism Bureau. Plan to spend at least ¥500–1,000 if you intend to purchase authentic festival-quality ink sticks — prices are lower here than anywhere else in the world.

The Dragon Boat Festival along the Xin’an River (新安江) in Shexian is one of the most spectacular in Anhui Province. Colourfully decorated dragon boats race along the historic waterway that once served as Huizhou’s primary trade route, connecting the region to Hangzhou and the Grand Canal. The festival includes traditional drumming and chanting, and participants — often village teams with generations of racing tradition — compete in a festive atmosphere. Zongzi (粽子), the pyramid-shaped glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves, are made in quantity and shared with spectators. Huizhou-style zongzi are distinctive for their savoury fillings of cured pork, chestnuts, and mushrooms. The riverside setting, with views of the ancient city wall and the distant blue-green mountains, provides a magnificent backdrop for this lively celebration.

Foreign visitor tips: This festival is less crowded than Spring Festival or National Day, making it a relatively comfortable time to visit. The June weather is warm (28–32°C); bring sunscreen, a hat, and plenty of water. The dragon boat races are held on the main festival day (typically starting at 9:00 AM); arrive early for the best viewing spots along the riverbank.