Neon lights flow, and Chinese clothing shines brightly. On the stage of the Chuxiong Grand Theater in Yunnan, silk road costumes dance gracefully in the flowing light, silver ornaments sway and make a crisp sound, like a mountain spring lightly tapping on a thousand year memory. Guests and friends from all over gather together to attend this colorful Yunnan Ethnic Costume Culture Festival. A thousand year old Yi costume, one race for a thousand years. The Sai Zhuang Festival, with a history of over 1350 years, is a traditional festival of the Chuxiong Yi ethnic group and is known as the ancient "rural T-stage show". According to legend, during the transition period of Yi ancestors from hunting and nomadic to farming and settlement, Sai Zhuang sprouted on the red soil. During the off-season, girls spin threads, dye fabrics, cut clothes, and sew shirts, embroidering their thoughts into their lapels. When the first lunar month is full, they dress up in formal attire and express their admiration to their crush. Heaven and earth are curtains, fields are stages, and hills are stands. In Yongren County and surrounding Yi ethnic areas of Chuxiong Prefecture, the Sai Zhuang Festival continues its original performance form of "using fields as a stage and mountain songs as accompaniment" to this day. Until now, every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, people of all ages and genders in the eight villages of Sifang dress up in festive costumes, playing beautiful songs and jumping feet in the sunshine and by the campfire, accompanied by cheerful suona and lusheng. Dress up and race until the sun sets, jump into the sky with your feet. Ah Ge jumps through a thousand layers of shoes, Ah Mei jumps through embroidered shoes. Love songs have surpassed the lark, and brothers and sisters fly together. ”A piece of lyrics from the Yi ethnic group in Zhiju Village, Yongren County, sings about the lively and joyful atmosphere of the Sai Zhuang Festival. On the competition field, children's teams, youth teams, and young men's and women's teams competed to appear, creating a lively atmosphere; Yi girls sing and dance, showcasing their skillful hands and wisdom; Young men and women take this opportunity to express their love and are filled with joy everywhere. In Yunnan, ethnic clothing is regarded as a "history worn on the body" and a myth embroidered on cloth, and Yi embroidery is even more so. With each stitch and thread, not only does it embroider the brilliance of camellias, the delicacy of camellias, and the majesty of totems such as tigers and eagles, but it also embroiders a love for life and reverence for nature. In 2009, the Yi ethnic costume festival in Zhiju, Yongren County was listed as a representative project of Yunnan Province's intangible cultural heritage. In 2014, Yi ethnic costumes were listed as a representative project of national intangible cultural heritage. In recent years, with the hosting of events such as the "Cloud Fashion Festival" and International Fashion Week, the ancient fashion festival has stepped onto the world stage and become an important window for showcasing Chinese culture. The thousand year old Yi costumes are beautifully matched, reflecting the prosperous days of the Yi family. Through policy support, industry standard construction, and digital empowerment, Chuxiong Prefecture has gradually formed a development pattern of Yi embroidery with "regional parks, township workshops, and village embroidery workshops". As of the first half of this year, the total output value of the Yi embroidery cultural industry in Chuxiong Prefecture has exceeded 700 million yuan, and 60000 embroidery women have achieved the beautiful vision of "carrying children, embroidering flowers, and raising a good home". Not long ago, the ancient "rural T-stage" also moved into a theater! Look, the Yi embroidery on the runway has bold and bright colors, diverse and exquisite stitches, and rich patterns bursting with new vitality in collision with modern tailoring. On stage, the Hani people's indigo, the Bai people's tie dye, the Naxi people's starry moon and other ethnic costumes compete with each other to create a beautiful and beautiful scroll... This unique costume festival allows us to see the millennium costume with a more confident posture, narrating the "national epic worn on the body". (New Society)