The Nadun Festival is a unique folk activity among the Tu ethnic people living in Northwest China's Qinghai Province. It is regarded one of the most important festivals for the Tu people. The festival recently kicked off at the Qinghai University for Nationalities.

The Nadun Festival is a unique folk activity among the Tu ethnic people living in Northwest China's Qinghai Province.

"Nadun" means entertainment and carnival in the Tu language. It is believed to have originated in the mid-Yuan Dynasty and prospered in the early Ming Dynasty, more than 6 hundreds years ago.

The festival usually starts mid-July, and lasts more than two months to celebrate the harvest and pray for a good crop next year. It is also a time for the local villagers to socialize. It's no wonder that some people call it the longest carnival in the world.

The Nadun Festival covers a wide range of activities closely associated with the Tu folk culture, from singing, and dancing, to costumes and rituals. Operas and dances reflect the combination of the Shaman culture of the northern minority and Han culture.

It is believed to have originated in the mid-Yuan Dynasty an prospered in the early Ming Dynasty, more than 6 hundreds years ago.

Editor: Dong Jirong