On February 23rd, the annual Guanyao Lettuce Party kicked off in Nanhai Shishan Town, Foshan. The Party this year reached an unprecedented scale as over 30,000 attendees gathered in Guanyao to enjoy a lettuce feast and craft symbolic lettuce wraps.

This year marked a cultural milestone with the first combined celebration of two national intangible heritage elements, the Guanyao Lettuce Party and the Nanhai Lion Dance rituals. At 8:00 AM, 12 lion dance teams launched a grand parade from Fengshan Ancient Temple, igniting a day-long folk fair filled with festive bustle, while at the ancient Zen Monastery, the lively atmosphere of the Lettuce Party was happily revived.

Eating "lettuce wraps" is the highlight of the lettuce banquet. Local residents filled the wraps with ingredients like pickled vegetables with stir-fried clams, vermicelli, and arrowhead tubers. Each ingredient carries an auspicious meaning. Lettuce symbolizes wealth, vermicelli represents longevity, pickled vegetables signify family continuity, clams indicate prosperity, and cooking pork with arrowheads carries wishes for having healthy babies.

The afternoon featured the fiercely competitive Qiang Huapao ("flower firecracker snatching") tournament, dubbed "China's rugby" by locals. Each flower firecracker carries special significance. The "flowers," which are actually metal rings wrapped tightly with red fabric, can only be understood once the fabric is removed, revealing the blessings represented by each "flower." A black rubber pad separates the "flowers" from the firecracker, which will launch the flowers into the air, letting three to four teams compete to catch them as they fall.

Originating from the Ming Dynasty, this 400-year-old festival has evolved into a grand occasion for overseas and local villagers to reconnect, attracting participants from around the globe and the Pearl River Delta who return specifically to experience this traditional celebration.

Source:Lingnan on the Cloud

【视频】创历史规模之最！佛山官窑生菜会热闹上演

2月23日，佛山南海狮山一年一度的民俗活动官窑生菜会拉开帷幕。本届官窑生菜会创历史规模之最，当天整个官窑超过3万人吃生菜宴、包生菜包。

南海狮团诞与官窑生菜会首次结合，两大非遗同框。当天早上8点，南海狮团诞12支狮队在凤山古庙开启巡游，民俗庙会也拉开帷幕。庙会现场欢声笑语，热闹非凡。而在古驿禅院，往昔生菜会的热闹盛况得以重现。

吃“生菜包”是生菜宴的头等大事。街坊们用生菜包入酸菜炒蚬肉、粉丝、茨菇等。生菜包蕴含着美好寓意，其中，生菜寓生财，粉丝象征长寿，酸菜表示子孙绵延，蚬肉表示显贵发达，慈姑煮猪肉寓意生个胖娃娃。

当天下午，激烈的“抢花炮”大赛热闹上演。抢花炮大赛被誉为“中式橄榄球”。花炮的每一炮都有特殊的寓意。众人争抢的“花”其实是一枚金属环，外面用红色的布条密密缠绕，要拆开布条才知道抢到的是何寓意的“花”。“花”与“炮”之间用一块黑色的橡胶垫片分隔，“花”被鞭炮“发射”到半空，掉落地面的过程中，三至四支队伍进行争夺。

官窑生菜会源于明代。四百年来，官窑生菜会逐渐成为海内外乡亲联络乡谊的盛会，来自海外、珠三角等地的乡亲都特意回来感受这项传统民俗。

文 ｜记者 梁正杰 通讯员 潘健君
视频｜梁正杰 温泽广
翻译 | 洪婷
英文审校 | 林佳岱