Torch Festival

The United States was one of the earliest countries in the world to hold overseas celebrations of the Yi Torch Festival. As early as 2005, the flame of the Torch Festival had already been kindled in Los Angeles. Los Angeles: the first overseas Torch Festival (2005). On August 14, 2005, the United Chinese Ethnic Minorities Association Overseas held the opening ribbon-cutting ceremony for the first “Torch Festival” in Los Angeles, hoping to introduce this traditional festival of the Liangshan Yi people in China to mainstream American communities. The event strictly followed the three-day-and-three-night program of the international Yi Torch Festival in Liangshan, China, and was divided into three stages: “worshipping the fire,” “passing on the fire,” and “sending off the fire.” Although no real torches were lit at the venue, members of the overseas Chinese community dressed in ethnic minority costumes sang and danced, while community leaders waved electric batons glowing with fire-red light, creating the distinctive atmosphere of the Torch Festival. Ying Yaodong, chairman of the supervisory board of the association, stated that the organization had previously held activities such as the Dai Water-Splashing Festival, and that the purpose of organizing the Torch Festival was precisely to introduce and promote China’s ethnic minorities to mainstream American society and deepen understanding of China. This was the first recorded formal overseas appearance of the Yi Torch Festival. Arizona: the Torch Festival on stage. In Arizona, the Arizona Chinese Dance Ensemble, led by Xu Aini, performed a Yi “Torch Festival” dance at an arts festival, bringing before American audiences the festive celebrations and ethnic character of villages in Liangshan, Sichuan. Cultural resonance among American netizens. In recent years, videos of the Yi Torch Festival have repeatedly gone viral on overseas social media. The spectacular scenes of fiery dragons filling the sky and crowds singing and dancing have astonished viewers abroad. Many American netizens have commented with emotion: “China seems to have an endless number of fascinating and distinctive festivals: the Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Water-Splashing Festival, Naadam, and Torch Festival each have their own folk traditions, carrying ethnic stories and the warmth of everyday life.” In their eyes, the Torch Festival is not merely a carnival, but a vivid expression of the vitality of China’s diverse ethnic cultures.

Australia has become an important foothold for the spread of the Torch Festival in the Southern Hemisphere. On July 28, 2023, the twenty-sixth day of the sixth lunar month, the Australian Yunnan Association held the First Yunnan Torch Festival, together with the founding ceremony of the Association’s Youth Council and the inauguration of the newly elected executive council, in Box Hill, Melbourne. This marked the first successful staging of the Yi Torch Festival in the Southern Hemisphere. The celebration was grand in scale. Guests included Sun Yan, Deputy Consul General of China in Melbourne; Bruce Atkinson, former President of the Victorian Legislative Council; Su Junxi, president of the Victorian Federation of Chinese Associations; other political and business representatives; as well as leaders of major Melbourne community organizations, cultural figures, and fellow Yunnan natives—around 400 people in total. The celebration officially began at 5:30 p.m. The organizers prepared traditional costumes of Yunnan’s ethnic minorities for guests to try on and photograph, set up stalls selling Yunnan specialties such as flower cakes and Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles, and taught guests the bamboo-pole dance. Professor Qin Lushan, honorary president of the Australian Yunnan Association, and its president, Li Ruge, wore full Yi ceremonial dress and hosted the celebration in Chinese, English, and Yunnan dialect. Deputy Consul General Sun Yan stated: “Yunnan, as a place where many ethnic groups live together, has preserved distinctive and colorful ways of life and culture. The Torch Festival is one of them, carrying the Yi people’s and other ethnic minorities’ beautiful aspirations for life.” Bruce Atkinson, former President of the Victorian Legislative Council, specially wore traditional Yi clothing custom-made by Jin Yongshu, head of the Chuxiong Yi Community in Yunnan. Su Junxi, president of the Federation of Chinese Associations, proposed that at the following year’s Moomba Festival, everyone could wear the sweeping Yi skirts and walk through the streets of Melbourne to promote China’s ethnic cultures. Second Torch Culture Festival (2024). On November 23, 2024, the Australian Yunnan Association successfully held its Second Torch Culture Festival, together with the inauguration ceremony of its fourth-term council, in Melbourne. The event stated: “Yunnan’s Torch Festival is a grand celebration of unity and multiculturalism. It not only carries profound traditions, but also shines with new brilliance in a foreign land. Like a blazing torch, it not only warms the heart, but also illuminates the connections between us.” The continued staging of the Torch Festival in Australia has allowed this traditional Yi festival to take root in the Southern Hemisphere.

In July 2025, Ms. Julie Arok from Papua New Guinea experienced the Torch Festival in Yunnan and personally took part in this great celebration of tens of thousands of revelers. Through this approach of “inviting people in,” the Torch Festival is sowing seeds of cultural understanding among the peoples of Oceania’s island nations.

The United Kingdom is an important node in the spread of the Torch Festival across Europe. On August 3, 2024, the first Yunnan Culture Festival was held in London, with the Yi Torch Festival serving as its climax. The event opened with an ethnic costume fashion show, in which models wore traditional clothing from Yunnan’s ethnic minorities, primarily Yi attire. The exquisite designs drew admiration from the audience. Afterwards, people gathered around the torches, singing and dancing together to celebrate the Yi people’s grandest festival. The event attracted several hundred participants. Arianna Lucente, who had lived in Yunnan for two years beginning in 2007, said at the venue that Yunnan’s ethnic minority cultures and cuisine felt deeply familiar to her and brought back fond memories. She said: “I think London still does not know enough about China, so I am very happy to have the opportunity to let people learn about a part of China that many people know nothing about.” Another participant, Mark Shaw, said: “This festival lets people understand who these people are, what they do, and how they live. It exposes more people to different cultures and helps us understand how different cultures interact.” Zhang Jie, co-founder of the Yunnan Culture Festival, said that seeing so many people from different backgrounds come together to learn about and celebrate Yunnan culture was deeply gratifying.