Hakka Shibi

Hakka Shibi

Hakka Shibi

Ninghua is a world-renowned ancestral homeland of the Hakka people. The Hakka ethnic group gradually formed over a long migration process spanning approximately 900 years, from the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Southern Song Dynasty. Shibi Village, located in the western part of Ninghua, is a crucial region where the Hakka identity took shape. Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, settlers from the Central Plains had already begun to establish themselves in the area. In the late Tang Dynasty, the Hakka ancestors, who had previously migrated from the Central Plains to areas near Poyang Lake, moved again to the junction of Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong provinces to escape warfare, with most eventually settling in Ninghua—primarily concentrated in Shibi.

Later, these ancestors used Ninghua as a base to expand outward. The peak period during which Hakka ancestors settled and multiplied in Ninghua coincided with the formation of the Hakka ethnic group. Those who migrated from Ninghua to other regions came to be regarded as the “authentic” Hakka. As a result, Shibi is known as the “Cradle of the Hakka” and the “Ancestral Land of the Hakka.” In recent years, batches of esteemed overseas and local Hakka figures, driven by deep nostalgia for their roots, have returned to this mysterious land to seek their ancestry and pay homage to their forebears. To foster connections among the global Hakka community and promote Hakka spirit, major Hakka associations from around the world jointly initiated, and with the approval of provincial, municipal, county governments and relevant departments, the annual October has been designated since 1995 as the World Hakka Ancestral Worship Month at Shibi. A grand public worship ceremony is held on October 16 at the Hakka Ancestral Hall in Shibi. The annual World Hakka Ancestral Ceremony attracts a large number of Hakka descendants from home and abroad.