The most important form of the Torch Festival is to make giant torches. This is the most important custom in every village. Experienced craftsmen must be involved in making torches every year. Dry pine wood and pine cones are tied into large torches that are 10 to 20 meters high or even higher, and set up in the village square or important locations. Men are usually responsible for tying the torches, while women are responsible for burning incense and praying for blessings.

The top of the torch is a bamboo and paper handmade bucket, which is the core decoration of the torch and symbolizes auspicious meanings such as good harvest, peace and prosperity, and good weather. Handmade paper colored flags and fruits are often hung on the edge of the bucket and on the torch. The most special fruit is the torch pear, which matures around the Torch Festival and has red stripes on the sun-dried side, symbolizing abundant harvest. After the torch is burned, the villagers scramble to grab the bucket when it falls. It is said that whoever grabs it will have good luck.

The craftsmanship of making Shengdou is a paper-making technique with regional characteristics. The number of layers of Shengdou varies, and the meanings are also different. Some Shengdou will have a circle of lotus platform at the bottom, but the overall meaning is good. According to legend, the largest Shengdou in Zhoucheng requires hundreds of people to work together to make it. The business tradition in Xizhou also makes them focus on information such as seeking wealth in four seasons on the inscriptions on Shengdou.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, people in Dali tie colorful ropes on their hands to ensure safety and ward off evil spirits and avoid disasters. During the Torch Festival, they throw the colorful ropes into the fire to burn. Fire symbolizes purification and rebirth. Throwing the colorful ropes that absorb evil spirits and bad luck into the torches means that the disasters of the old year will be completely dissipated with the flames.

Throwing rosin powder is also an important part of the Torch Festival. For safety reasons, it is usually thrown towards the fire source or thrown from a lowered torch. The flame that instantly explodes symbolizes the exorcism of evil spirits and the bringing of light. Wherever the fire shines, it eliminates diseases and disasters. Some villages retain the ancient custom of holding torches and scattering rosin in the rice fields late at night, aiming to burn pests and protect the harvest.

The Bai and Yi peoples around Dali all celebrate the Torch Festival, but Fengyang does not light fires during the Torch Festival. Legend has it that the Phoenix in the village was scared away during the Torch Festival. Since then, the Torch Festival in Fengyang has been lively even without fire. There are horse races on the Ancient Tea Horse Road, and the horse hooves fall on the smooth stone road, like a pleasant tune. A stage is set up in the small square in the village, and Bai folk tunes, Dabenqu, and Sanxian are melodious.

The most exciting part is grabbing noodles. As long as you can grab a bowl of noodles during the Fengyang Torch Festival, there is an unlimited supply. One year, I was responsible for grabbing noodles. Relying on my height and physique, I successfully broke through hundreds of people. If you are afraid of fire and want to participate in the excitement of the Torch Festival, I highly recommend going to Fengyang.

🔥Torch Festival tips:
Dali Ancient Town March Street: The closest to the ancient town, usually torches are lit after nightfall, and people gather along Cangshan Gate to the center of the March Street Square. This year's big torches have been set up; the night market and bonfire dances will also be very lively;

Zhoucheng: The most original Bai Torch Festival around Dali. In the past, the torches in Zhoucheng were the largest in the nearby villages!

Eryuan West Lake: The Water Torch Festival is quite special. You can hold torches and cruise around the West Lake at night. The light of the fire and the stars are reflected in the lake. It’s beautiful just to think about it.

🔥Torch Festival purchase tips:
The combination of large and small torches, buckets and colorful flags are necessary decorations, and other decorations such as fruits and pine branches can be made according to your own preferences;

You can sprinkle rosin powder many times after buying one bag, so don't use it too much; and pay attention to safety;
You can also buy two fire starters and insert them into the gaps of the big torch to make it easier to start the fire.

🔥Torch Festival Safety Matters:
When throwing rosin powder, do not throw it towards people's faces, hair or bodies, as it is very dangerous. Generally, keep the torch below the knee and throw it downwards; do not throw a large handful, a small handful is enough. Have a happy holiday and safety first.

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Bunun: The other side of the Torch Festival | Safety tips must read

 July 20, 2025

Regarding safety, due to the multiple burns at the 2025 Torch Festival, one of our guests and friend Bunun, a Dali local, wrote a reminder and advice:

"Jason, after seeing the scalding incident at the Torch Festival yesterday, I wrote a small safety guide and posted it on Xiaohongshu. But my influence is limited. Can you send it to tourists who want to come to Dali when you are free? Well, although it has passed, this year's incident has passed, but I think if everyone doesn't know the reason and gets crazier and crazier, there will be more dangers in the future. Well, it's just the nagging of an old lady. Thank you."

"Before, we in Dali just regarded it as a festival, and it was mainly for young people to have fun, so no one should have seriously summarized this matter. It was only us locals. Anyway, between sisters and brothers, before going out, they would teach each other and take good protection, so no one should have organized this. We just hope to protect the tourists and avoid misunderstandings. Everyone is here to experience it, and no one wants to get hurt. It's best to be happy and safe. But sometimes I think. Maybe because tourists have the psychological feeling of only coming once, the degree of madness on some scales is more difficult to control."

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As a child who grew up in Dali, I would like to warn tourists, especially us girls:

1. The torches are made of pine wood full of pine resin, and the powder is rosin. It is said that some people also mix it with pigeon droppings. Of course, the ashes from the burning are not toxic, but it is different from the black knot. You don't need hot ashes to touch your black knot. In my memory of 18 years in Dali, no one has ever smeared ashes on their bodies or faces!

2. Girls, especially pretty girls, don't think that the Torch Festival is for the sake of photos and you should dress up beautifully and show your skin! Don't wear any jewelry or sunglasses. It may be damaged. Don't wear chemical fiber clothes or sandals. Please wear cotton, canvas denim, work clothes, long-sleeved trousers, long-sleeved trousers, long-sleeved trousers! Wear cloth shoes or genuine leather shoes that you don't care about. Don't wear stockings. Gather your hair up and put it up. It's best to put a hoodie on your head before entering the venue.

3. Just a little bit of rosin powder will produce a big flame. The key is that there will be a lot of larger unburned particles passing through the flame that will sting and burn you, so try to do 2.

4. For rosin powder, the normal way to play is to grab a handful with one hand and sprinkle it towards people's footsteps. In recent years, the more off-roading, the more adrenaline tourists are getting, and they don't care about life and death. So don't jump into the fire. If you see "holding rosin powder with both hands and throwing it into the fire", please kneel down and brake. The more you play, the crazier and bolder you become. The more onlookers cheer, the more you should quietly step back five meters.

4. There are always people who take advantage of others and act in a vulgar way everywhere in the world. Girls should go to the center on that day. The safest way is to form a team of four or more people, including boys. Buy small torches and stay away from the center. If you want to spread or jump, test the dosage first, agree on the order, and shout the beat together.

When someone throws you a shower in the center, polite people will wait for you to ask before throwing it. Pretty girls will be chased and thrown after. The original intention is to ward off evil, bless and express love. If you don't want to be afraid, turn your back and go to someone else with the shower. Just jump up happily. This is fun and minimizes the damage. It is impolite to throw showers on the face and body, which is dangerous. Immediately turn your back or sideways

5. Immediately rinse the burn with running tap water for more than 15 minutes. If the rosin melts and sticks to the surface (often synthetic fibers), do not peel it off. Cover it with clean gauze and go to the hospital.

6. It is our instinct to pursue excitement and play. It is important to understand the dangers and safety etiquette before we can have fun, right?

The old lady lies on the hospital bed with her head tilted and one hand nagging. If you have any questions, please ask them and I will answer them bit by bit. Every year before the Torch Festival, I hope that this article of mine will be fished out and displayed to the public. I hope that there will be less unnecessary harm and more joy.