The Shilin (Stone Forest) Yi Autonomous County, located in the hinterland of the eastern Yunnan plateau, held an International Torch Festival during the Kunming International Cultural and Travel Festival.

Peculiar karst landforms, the beautiful legend of the slave girl A'shima, enchanting Pu'er tea, simple and unsophisticated customs of the Yi nationality all delighted overseas and domestic visitors and left unforgettable impressions.

Visitors attending the Torch Festival got a bird's-eye view of the forest of stone, and were unable to help themselves from marveling at the wonders of nature.

The large stone forest is a cluster of thousands of hills and ridges. Their cliffs are as precipitous and dangerous as a knife blade. Small stone outcroppings are strewn at random, standing next to lakes and rivers, covered with grasses. A'shima, a beautiful and kind girl of Yi legend, changed into a stone for the sake of her beloved, 'A Hei.'

Visitors all became 'A Hei' and A'shima'.  However, Yi girls in traditional dress were the most authentic A'shima's. These 'A'shima's sang songs urging guests to drink more at a banquet. 

Not only were these young sirens good at urging guests to drink more, but they were also accomplished at performing the tea ceremony. On an old-time tea table, a girl of the Yi ethnicity displayed her skillful 'kung fu,' handling four kinds of tea and tirelessly introducing the culture of Yunnan Pu'er.

Greeting-guest tea is bitter at first, and then sweet; Old Pu'er tea has a sweet, pure aftertaste; Xianglaifo tea is fragrant and Notoginseng flower tea nourishes the body and protects one's health.

Huge crowds of people gathered around a round open arena to watch the traditional ceremony of the Torch Festival, which included wrestling and bullfights.

The climax of the festival was the torch bash. 400 torches lighted the sky of Shilin County at night in a split second, becoming a waving fire dragon. Bonfires were lit and people joined Yi dances hand in hand, enjoying themselves heartily, alight with passion.

Source: Chinanews.com 
2005/04/16