Qiaoqi Festival in Xihe County, Gansu Province is divided into several stages.

Qiaoqi Festival in Xihe County, Gansu Province is divided into three stages, each of which is as follows:

1. Preparation stage: Before the first day of the seventh lunar month, people began to prepare for the activities to celebrate Qiaojie Begging Festival. Every household will prepare five-color silk thread, embroidery needle, sequins and other materials used to make blessing symbols and decorations, and at the same time prepare zongzi, fruit and other holiday foods.

2. Jojo stage: Jojo Festival officially begins on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. On this day, girls will dress up, hold colorful silk threads and line up in the courtyard or balcony to pray for wisdom and ingenuity. They put the five-color silk thread through the eye of a needle with seven holes, symbolizing the traditional seven stars and Vega. At the same time, there are various competitions and games related to begging activities, such as hydrangea competition and begging riddles.

3. Celebration stage: The celebration of Chocci Festival will last for several days. During this period, people will hold various cultural and artistic activities, such as lion dance, dragon dance and opera performances. In addition, there are food exhibitions and folk performances to let people enjoy the festive atmosphere.

The origin of begging festival

The origin of Qiaoqi Festival is related to the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd in the ancient legends of China. According to legend, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the river between Vega and Altair, that is, the Milky Way, will open once, and Vega and Altair will meet once.

According to legend, the weaver girl is one of the seven fairies of the Jade Emperor. She is good at weaving. She weaves clouds in the sky. Cowherd is a poor farmer. He is hardworking, kind and good at herding cattle. The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd fell in love, got married and lived a happy life. However, because Weaver Girl had a good time, she forgot to knit. The jade emperor was very dissatisfied with this, so he took the weaver girl back to the sky and let her continue to weave clouds.

Cowherd was heartbroken and finally got the help of buffalo to make a pair of flying phoenix wings. He and his two children flew into the sky on wings, determined to reunite with the Weaver Girl. In order to help them meet, the kind black magpie secretly took the Weaver Girl to the opposite side of Cowherd's house and let them meet for a day.

In order to commemorate the meeting between Weaver Girl and Cowherd, people hold a beggar's day celebration on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year. On this day, women will beg for wisdom and craftsmanship from the Weaver Girl, prepare colorful silk threads, pray to the Weaver Girl, and participate in various activities related to handicrafts and weaving. Therefore, Begging for Cleverness Festival has become a festival to express women's wisdom and hard work.