In Xiao County, a locality of Anhui Province famed for its long-standing mutton-eating tradition, celebrations for a 21-day-long summer mutton cultural festival until August 4 are in full swing now.
Since the 2026 Xiao County Fuyang Cultural Festival kicked off on July 15, the local food streets have been teeming with flavorful mutton cuisines including the widely acclaimed mutton soup.
Diversified thematic activities such as cultural performances, intangible cultural heritage (ICH) exhibitions, sports carnivals, quality local produce sales, and cultural tourism experiencing events are being staged there.
At Xiao County Sports Center Square, crowds of spectators are spotted cheering for the dazzling light and shadow shows presenting stories of historical figures and local opera performances.
During the festival's opening ceremony, programs combining drum music, street dance, folk dance and scenario role-play were put on stage to depict the heroic life journey of Liu Yu, a Southern Dynasties (420-589) emperor.
Amid a standing ovation at the end of the opening ceremony, a reputed actor portraying Liu Yu started a monologue reminiscent of his beloved mutton soup, saying that despite his decades of eventful life, mutton soup from the hometown remained his favorite.
When these history-involving scenes echo with the enduring charm of local mutton cuisines, the characteristic food streets and zones exhibiting northern Anhui ICH items outside the Sports Center Square also remain a fascination for visitors.
Elsewhere in Xiao County, parallel celebrations for the festival are ongoing in the picturesque Shengquan Ancient Town, a village tourism site in Baitu Town, Dingli Town, Huangcangyu Scenic Area and Dai Lake Park.
Apart from food fairs offering Xiao County summer mutton banquet enrolled in Anhui provincial ICH list, the county promises visitors a visible, enjoyable and purchasable touring experience.
In the past week, traditional local handicrafts including paper-flipping flowers, embroidery works and paper art works have attracted a great number of locals and tourists to linger.
In the following days until August 4, the Fuyang Cultural Festival is expected to attract more visitors to tour the county where a 2.4-billion-yuan annual white goat output value makes it one of Anhui's top 10 animal husbandry counties.
(Edited by Duan Jing with Xinhua Silk Road, duanjing@xinhua.org)
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