The picture shows scattering flower petals as a blessing. Photo by Zhang Yating, the Journalist

The picture shows Chuantian stones on display at the event. Photo by Zhang Yating, the Journalist

As spring returns to the Hanshui River, its waters shimmer with rippling emerald waves. On March 9, the 21st day of the first lunar month, the Chuantian Festival, a folk tradition passed down for a thousand years, returned as scheduled.

That day, from Small North Gate Square in Xiangcheng to Longzikou Wharf in Fancheng, Xiangyang, Hubei Province, from a cruise ship on the Hanshui River to the grove east of Fengchu Bridge, a grand folk celebration titled “Romance of the Hanshui River: A Chuantian Festival Rendezvous” simultaneously unfolded at multiple locations along both banks of the Hanshui River, painting a vivid spring tableau of “two cities echoing each other and three generations rejoicing together.”

Cruising the Hanshui River and Appreciating an “Intangible Cultural Heritage Gathering”

At 10 a.m., a Hanshui River cruise ship cut through the layered emerald waves, carrying a boatload of laughter and joy as it set off on a journey tracing the origins of Hanshui River culture.

Every year on the 21st day of the first lunar month, people celebrate the Chuantian Festival, a traditional custom dating back a thousand years, rooted in the romantic legend of “the goddess bestowing her jade pendant.” As an ancient folk festival, the festival carries rich cultural meaning, weaving together stone-seeking, countryside outings, friendship, and the offering of blessings. It embodies the people of Xiangyang’s pursuit of beautiful love and a happy life.

Inside the cabin, the Nanhu Star Art Troupe opened the festivities with a dance performance entitled “The Legend of the Chuantian Festival.” With flowing sleeves and graceful movements, the dancers brought to life the romantic tale of “Zheng Jiaofu encountering the goddess of the Hanshui River,” drawing round after round of applause.

He Jia, Director of Qingxiang Blue Dyeing Workshop, and Meng Yuewen, chairman of the Dongjin New Area Calligraphy and Painting Artists Association, took to the stage together to present a calligraphy work titled “Ode to the Chuantian Festival” to the Xiangyang Hanshui River Culture Research Association. The piece carried special significance — the calligraphy was rendered on homespun cloth dyed using the traditional woad root tie-dye technique. “The Chuantian Festival was inscribed on the provincial intangible cultural heritage list in 2024, and both calligraphy and tie-dye are themselves intangible cultural heritage art forms,” He Jia told the journalist. The convergence of multiple intangible cultural heritage traditions added even richer cultural dimensions to this year’s festival.

Moving to the deck, a solemn blessing ceremony titled “Expressing Our Love to the Hanshui River: Prayers for Good Fortune in the Chuantian Festival” was held. All participants stood facing the Hanshui River and recited the “Hanshui River Prayer Words in the Chuantian Festival”: “The Hanshui flows on, nurturing all lands; an ancient custom of a thousand years, illuminated anew today…” When the recitation ended, everyone gently scattered the flower petals in their hands onto the river’s surface. The colorful petals drifted with the current, carrying boundless wishes of blessing for family, for Xiangyang, and for the mother river, the Hanshui River. Afterward, red prayer ribbons inscribed with wishes and blessings were tied to the ship’s railings, fluttering freely in the breeze.

Among the crowd, one particularly distinctive participant caught everyone’s attention. His name is Shi Shuping, a chef originally from Chongqing who has lived in Xiangyang for over 30 years and is an avid enthusiast for ornamental stone. “Today is the 21st day of the first lunar month, so I’m wearing a necklace strung with 21 Chuantian stones, symbolizing peace and the fulfillment of wishes,” he said with a smile. “After settling in Xiangyang, I fell in love with collecting Hanshui River stones. Every year at the Chuantian Festival, fellow stone lovers gather to share and appreciate each other’s finds.”

“The Chuantian Festival originated along the Hanshui River and has been passed down for a thousand years. It is both an important vessel of Hanshui River culture and a cultural bond connecting the people of Xiangyang,” said Mei Xiaoxue, President of the Xiangyang Hanshui River Culture Research Association. This year’s Chuantian Festival took on many forms — spring outings, stone-seeking, river cruising, blessing ceremonies, and cultural performances — to attract greater public participation and bring this ancient folk custom further into everyday life.

Two Cities Celebrating Together and Folk Traditions Returning to Daily Life

“Xiangyang is our hometown, and the Hanshui River is our mother river. We gather on the banks of the river to celebrate the Chuantian Festival together…” At 9 o’clock that morning, a collective recitation ignited people’s love for their hometown and reverence for the Hanshui River.

A folk celebration spanning both banks of the Hanshui River kicked off simultaneously in Xiangcheng and Fancheng.

At Small North Gate Square in Xiangcheng, drums and gongs filled the air as performers from the Sunset Red Art Troupe, the Jingchu Culture Art Troupe, and the Mrs. Han City Wall Art Troupe showcased their talents in turn: keeping time with the drumbeats as they paddled land boats, performing Yangge folk dances, and carrying ornate sedan chairs; “big-head doll” characters delighted the crowds with their playful antics, while donkey and clam-shell performances were performed with remarkable liveliness and flair. As colorful fans swirled through the air, dances including “The Chuantian Festival Blessing Song” and “Dedicated to the Chuantian Festival” were performed one after another in tribute to this ancient celebration. At the finale, performers and audience members joined hands to form a circle, singing and dancing together as laughter rang out long beneath the Ancient City Wall of Xiangyang.

The scene at Longzikou Wharf in Fancheng was equally exuberant. Vows to “protect the Hanshui River, our mother river” rang out with powerful conviction, echoing across the water to Xiangcheng on the opposite bank. A theatrical performance titled “Chivalrous Xiangyang: An Intangible Cultural Heritage Blessing Song” extended greetings to spring in a style deeply rooted in local culture; a poetry recitation piece, “A Poem for the Chuantian Festival,” distilled in verse the deep affection the people of Xiangyang hold for this land; and in the program “Fairies Descend from Heaven to Stroll Through Xiangyang,” performers dressed as celestial maidens with flowing robes “descended’ to the banks of the Hanshui River, drawing crowds of citizens who stopped to watch and cheer.

From Xiangcheng to Fancheng, both banks of the Hanshui River resounded with unified voices and harmonious song and dance. Every cheer and every dance was the most heartfelt declaration of love by the sons and daughters of Xiangyang to their mother river, a moving expression of a millennium-old folk tradition returning to the fabric of everyday life.

Enjoying Spring Outings and Stone-Seeking and Displaying the Vitality of Youth

“Welcome the new festival of the new year, lift the Chuantian stone, and pay tribute to the goddess…” On the eastern side of Fengchu Bridge, beside a grove of trees, an ancient blessing song drifted through the river breeze. Wang Xiping, a folk culture enthusiast, stood among the crowd and led citizens in singing this long-cherished “The Chuantian Festival Blessing Song.”

Following the sound, visitors could see groups of two and three gathering on the sandy riverbank, heads bowed in search of Chuantian stones. This is the oldest custom of the Chuantian Festival: to find a “hollow-eyed stone” — one with a natural hole running through it — and claim an auspicious omen of good fortune for the new spring.

Wang Huan, a 21-year-old Hanfu enthusiast, crouched on the sand and held up a stone she had just found, examining it closely. “I always thought any stone with a hole in it would count — I had no idea it only qualifies as a true Chuantian stone if you can look through the hole and see the sky,” she said excitedly, attending the event for the very first time. “Picking up stones is so much fun, and I’ve heard so many stories about the Hanshui River goddess — they’ve been turned into blessing songs, and they’re really fascinating.”

Gazing at the bustling crowd along the banks of the Hanshui River, Mei Xiaoxue was deeply moved: “This year’s Chuantian Festival has been full of highlights, strengthening public participation and interaction. In particular, the involvement of so many young people has brought a vibrant surge of youthful energy to the event. I hope more visitors from other parts of the country will come to Xiangyang and experience the charm of the Chuantian Festival.”

Painter Ruan Bin stood by the Hanshui River, watching the crowd of participants with a sense of wonder: “This festival gives the people of Xiangyang a wonderful opportunity to draw close to nature and experience traditional culture. It is more than a folk custom — it has become a spiritual force pulsing through Xiangyang.”

From the middle of the Hanshui River to its banks, from the elderly to young children, every blessing song, every Chuantian stone, and every smiling face together composed the most moving Hanshui River memory of the spring of 2026.

The thousand-year-old Chuantian Festival, passed down from one generation of Xiangyang people to the next, continues to shine with ever-renewed brilliance.