Nadun schedule

The festival is held after harvesting the wheat in the summer, and usually lasts 63 days from July 12 to September 15 on the lunar calendar. It's no wonder that some people call it the longest carnival in the world. Actually preparations such as a series of organizing, arranging and sacrificial activities start around early April. When autumn comes, the carnival kicks off with the music of drums and gongs. It is believed to have been originally held in memory of a carpenter well known for his wit, but it has now become a carnival celebrating good harvests. Throughout the festival, the villagers are immersed in thundering drum beats and a sea of songs and dances.

The Nadun Festival is a kind of Nuo folk custom. Its rich activities display the distinctiveness of the Tu folk art, from music, dances, costumes, to rituals. The Nuo operas and dances are an especially harmonious combination of the shaman culture of the northern minorities and Han culture. Different activities are held in the following sequences: on Jul 12, Songjia Temple Fair; Jul 13, E’jia Temple Fair; Jul 14, Sangbula Temple Fair; Jul 15, Wenyang Temple Fair; Jul 16, Qijia Temple Fair; Jul 17 and 18, Wangjia Temple Fair.
And then, from Aug to Sep, the sequence of temple fair is like this: on Aug 1, Zhaomu Chuanyu Temple Fair; Aug 2, Anjia Temple Fair; Aug 3 to 6; Zhaojia Temple Fair; Aug 7 to 8; Doujia Temple Fair; Aug 9 to 12, Zhaomuchuan Temple Fair; Aug 11, Hongzhuan Temple Fair; Aug 12, Zhaojia and Weijia Temple Fair; Aug 13 to 15, Guanting Zhaizi Temple Fair; Aug 16, Chenjia Temple Fair; Aug 18 to 19, Luanshitou Temple Fair; Aug 20 to 21, Xiela Temple Fair; Aug 22 to 23 Tumuqi Temple Fair; Aug 26 to 28, Chenjiashan Temple Fair; Sep 6, Guanting Temple Fair; Sep 9 to 10, Lajia Temple Fair; and Sep 11 to 15, Zhujia Temple Fair, which is the last activity in Nadun.