Torch Festival is a traditional festival of Yi, Bai, Naxi, Wa, Lahu and Hani nationalities in southern China. Most of the time is held for one to three days around June 24 of the annual summer calendar. The activities of all ethnic groups and regions are not exactly the same, but it is essential to light torches made of pine trees on holiday nights, or insert them in villages or hold them in fields, accompanied by various song and dance activities.

When the Yi people celebrate the Torch Festival, the villages light torches at night, and the torches spread and swim in the fields and mountains, which is quite spectacular. The Yi people use torches to light the fields, which is the reason for the bumper harvest. According to folklore, the Torch Festival is to attract ears of grain to watch the torch, and to play with the torch is to put out diseases and insect pests of seedlings. During the festival, some places will kill pigs and cows to sacrifice to the gods; In some places, every household will bring a chicken to the field to offer sacrifices to "the land and the land mother". Folk believe that torches can drive away ghosts and evil spirits, so after lighting torches, you have to go door to door and sprinkle rosin on them while walking. This is called "giving gifts". During the Torch Festival, there are various social, cultural and entertainment activities. Singing, dancing, horse racing, bullfighting, wrestling, archery, tug-of-war and swinging are held in various villages. The bullfighting and wrestling competitions in Guishan area of Lunan Stone Forest are particularly famous. Before the bullfight, each village should elect representatives to participate, and bring the selected fat cows to the venue, and the masses dressed in festive costumes come to watch. At that time, a prestigious person will announce the start of the game, so gongs and drums will be loud, trombones will ring, firecrackers will be deafening, and couples of young men and women will play the big three strings around the stadium and dance happily. In a jubilation, the players led a bull with a round head and a big horn into the venue and were reviewed by the referee. When the referee gave the order, the owner let the cow go and let it fight according to the opponent selected in advance. The fierce bull raised its hoof, turned its horns, rushed at the other side and dug sideways until it defeated the other side. The winner can get a spherical Ayabeni hanging on the sideline ball post.

Another important competition during the Torch Festival is wrestling. Participants wore shorts and went shirtless. Hug each other at first as a sign of friendship. At the command of the referee, he fought hard and bravely, and finally fell his opponent and landed on his shoulder, winning. This game is very exciting. Wrestling in one place, all parties gather together, and people dressed in costumes watch and cheer from all directions. Boys carry big sanxian and bamboo flute; The girls carried their carefully embroidered flower bags, played cheerful music and danced happily before and after the competition, which filled the competition with a warm atmosphere.

Torch Festival is also a good opportunity for young men and women to communicate and choose their spouses. During the festival, they lit torches for fun and gathered in the fields in the mountains to hold a spring fire party. Young men and women play and sing with each other under the bonfire, singing and dancing heartily, staying up all night, looking for their beloved objects from them. Winners and wrestlers in bullfighting often become the objects that girls pursue and admire.

About the origin of Torch Festival, there is a legend of Yi people in southern Shandong. In ancient times, there was a magic jade who brutally persecuted the people. The masses couldn't bear it any longer and rose up against it. However, the devil's fortress could not be attacked for a long time, so sheep attacked instead, that is, torches were tied to the horns and hind legs of each sheep to drive them away, and the result was victory. In order to commemorate the victory of this struggle, people celebrate each other by lighting torches on June 24 of each summer calendar, thus forming the Torch Festival. The legend of Bai nationality is different. Guangxu's "Kunming County Records" contains: "In the Han Dynasty, there was a foreign woman named Nan whose husband was killed. Nan vowed not to be a thief, that is, she died in the fire on June 24, and the Chinese mourned it, so she was a meeting."