Lixia Festival at Fuxian Lake, China

A crystal-clear alpine lake wedged between Kunming and Yuxi, Fuxian Lake (Fuxian Hu) is best-known for the huge amount of Cambrian fossils discovered there, but average travellers can head for the lake on May 10th in the name of Lixia, or the Advent of Summer. A traditional festival once involving a sacrifice to the lake’s dragon king, it’s now celebrated with a gala on the lakeside Fengshan Park (Fengshan Gongyuan). Besides sampling delicious local foods like mutton rice noodle and pea jelly, you also shouldn’t miss the local opera known as guansuoxi, brought here in early Qing dynasty by Han immigrants from Lower Yangtz region and featuring splendid costumes and fascinating masks.

At Fengshan Park, Chengjiang, Yuxi

Photo credit: 视觉中国