[August 17, 2017, Anshun, Guizhou] Tunpu culture interprets six hundred years of history in central Guizhou; folk mountain songs sing of timeless human emotions. On August 17, the opening ceremony of the 2nd China · Anshun Tunpu Mask Festival was grandly held at the Shanli Jiangnan Tourism & Leisure Resort in Anshun. Attending the event were Zeng Yongtao, Secretary of the Anshun Municipal Committee; Zhao Gongqiao, Director of the Standing Committee of the Anshun Municipal People's Congress; Yang Huachang, Chairman of the Anshun Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; Guo Weiyi, Member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Xixiu District Committee; Yang Xiaoman, Member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and Minister of the Publicity Department; Yin Hengbin, Member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee, Secretary-General of the Municipal Party Committee, and Minister of the United Front Work Department; Xu Dexiang, Member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Puding County Committee; Hu Jinwu, Member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and Deputy Mayor, along with other relevant leaders, as well as experts and scholars from within and outside the province. Representatives from over 60 media outlets including People's Daily and Xinhua News Agency, more than 30 tourism associations, travel agencies, and provincial cultural enterprises, and 100 representatives from all walks of society were invited to attend the opening ceremony.
Ms. Yang Xiaoman, Member of the Standing Committee of the Anshun Municipal Party Committee and Minister of the Publicity Department, introduced in her speech: “Central Guizhou boasts profound historical culture, and Anshun’s intangible cultural heritage holds captivating charm. This Tunpu Mask Festival takes distinctive ethnic culture as its root, intangible cultural heritage as its soul, cultural innovation as its priority, and building a culturally strong city as its goal. It strives to create a unique cultural brand for Anshun and to fully invigorate the city’s ethnic and advanced cultures.” The 2nd China · Anshun Tunpu Mask Festival featured rich content and diverse formats. Leveraging the “mask,” the most distinctive intangible cultural heritage of Anshun’s Tunpu culture, it brought together traditional folk elements and modern art, as well as contemporary and avant-garde event formats. With the theme of “Promoting China’s Excellent Culture and Showcasing the Charm of Anshun’s Intangible Heritage,” the festival invited domestic and international experts to conduct in-depth discussions on the protection, inheritance, development, integration, and regeneration of Anshun’s intangible cultural heritage. Combining cultural innovation and creative concepts, it highlighted the perfect fusion of traditional culture and contemporary creativity. Making full use of Anshun’s abundant cultural tourism resources, the festival integrated the beauty of landscapes, humanities, and ecology, continuously building the cultural event brand of the China · Anshun Tunpu Mask Festival, further promoting deeper integration of culture and tourism across broader scopes and fields, and boosting the quality and efficiency of Anshun’s cultural tourism.
The 2nd China · Anshun Tunpu Mask Festival lasted for 10 days from August 17 to 26, primarily comprising three parts: the opening ceremony, a seminar on the inheritance and development of Anshun’s intangible cultural heritage, and a creative mask carnival. The creative mask carnival included 14 series of activities: float parades, romance in Old Zhou, Di opera performances, Tunpu mask DIY, Find the One Wearing a Mask, blessings from the Flower Fairy, mask riddles, street flash mobs, masquerade balls, tech experiences, mask art exhibitions, A Feast of Noodles, Di opera flower boats, and anime cosplay shows. The opening ceremony of the Tunpu Mask Festival began with the dance “Flowers Bloom in Anshun” and revolved around the themes of “history and evolution, inheritance and innovation, and vision and integration” of Tunpu mask culture. Through performance forms that combined tradition with innovation and seamlessly blended the virtual with the real—including situational performances, audio-visual dances, Di opera acts, and video presentations—it showcased the development journey of Tunpu culture and presented a grand feast for guests from all over to appreciate this profound culture.
Anshun is located at the heart of Guizhou and the gateway to Yunnan. With its Central Guizhou Di opera, Puding lanterns, Yunjiu Tianlong, Jiuxi Bazhai, and the legacy of Tunpu culture, Anshun attracts visitors from all directions with its unique multi-ethnic culture. The Tunpu mask is the most vibrant, distinctive, and humanistic cultural phenomenon within Tunpu culture—thousands of Tunpu faces gathering the world. What belongs to an ethnicity also belongs to the world. With its unique charm, Anshun invites people from all over the world to come, participate, experience, and feel.