E Niang Jiufeng Mountain

　　The origin of the "Sanyuesan" Festival, E Xian Ridge, is located in Guangba Township, Dongfang City, Hainan Province, on the northeastern bank of the middle reaches of the Changhua River, 60 kilometers from the county town of Basuo.

　　In 1988, it was designated as a Hainan tourism scenic protection area by the People's Government of Hainan Province.

　　Dongfang City in Hainan is one of the main cities where the Li ethnic group resides. Every year on the third day of the third lunar month, the Li people in the county town and surrounding towns hold the traditional Sanyuesan Festival.

　　Visitors who happen to be in Dongfang County during this time can personally experience the happiness and joy of the Li people, adding immense fun to their trip.

　　Originally, the Sanyuesan Festival was a traditional folk festival for unmarried Li youths to pursue love and happiness, and married individuals did not participate.

　　But today, with the development of the times, Sanyuesan has become a grand event for the Li people to engage in cultural, recreational, and sports activities, with widespread participation from Li men, women, and children of all ages, as well as party and government officials and people of other ethnic groups.

　　To celebrate the Sanyuesan Festival, the Li people of Hainan start preparing early in the year by buying new clothes, brewing mountain glutinous rice wine, and getting sticky rice ready to make sweet cakes.

　　On the morning of the third day of the third lunar month, Li people of all ages dress up in festive attire. Young men and women dress particularly strikingly and go in groups, singing and dancing all the way to the gathering site.

　　The square is bustling with activity, where young men and women dance joyfully, performing dances such as the bamboo pole dance, the deer-hunting dance, and the firewood dance.

　　Then, some engage in antiphonal singing, while others take part in playing the "Dingdong" (a traditional musical instrument). Some youths express their affection for each other during the activities, laying the foundation for future marriages.

　　The Sanyuesan festivities usually continue into the night, with bonfires lit in the square, pushing the celebration to its climax.

　　Dance choreographers from the Guangdong Ethnic Song and Dance Troupe created the Li ethnic dance “Sanyuesan,” which was performed at the World Festival of Youth and Students and won a festival award. Since then, the Li people’s Sanyuesan Festival has gained worldwide fame.

　　There are various claims about the origin of the Sanyuesan Festival, one of which says it originated from E Xian Ridge in Dongfang County, along with a widely known local legend.

　　E Xian Ridge is also known as “E Niang Jiufeng Mountain.” On the mountain there is a deep, bottomless cave called E Xian Cave, where water swirls and waves crash against the cave walls.

　　Legend has it that long ago, a monstrous crow spirit lived in this cave and often harmed the local Li people. One day, the crow spirit captured a beautiful Li girl named E Niang and took her into the cave.

　　On the third day of the third lunar month that year, E Niang’s beloved A’Gui came up the mountain armed with a dagger and bow to rescue her, but was killed by the crow spirit.

　　Heartbroken, E Niang took advantage of the crow spirit’s deep sleep to kill it, avenging A’Gui and ridding the Li people of a great scourge.

　　Later, E Niang never married and, every year on the third day of the third lunar month, she would go to E Xian Cave to sing the love songs she once sang with A’Gui.

　　Later, the Li people of Hainan named the cave E Niang Cave in her memory. The mountain was thus called E Niang Jiufeng Mountain, and every year on the third day of the third lunar month, unmarried young Li men and women from the surrounding areas would dress up and gather at E Xian Ridge to sing love songs in search of their soulmates.

　　This custom gradually expanded and spread throughout Li communities in Hainan, becoming a grand traditional festival for the Li people.

　　Scenic Area Address: Near the Daguanba Reservoir area within Dongfang City, 60 kilometers from Basuo

　　E Niang Jiufeng Mountain

　　On the third day of the third lunar month each year, unmarried young Li men and women from the surrounding areas dress up in their finest attire, gather at Mount E Xian, and sing love songs to search for their ideal partners.

　　This tradition has gradually expanded and spread across Li communities in Hainan, becoming a grand traditional festival for the Li people.

　　Scenic area address: Near the Daguanba Reservoir area within Dongfang City, approximately 60 kilometers from Basuo.