Hezhe people get together to worship the God of Rivers every July 15th of the lunar calendar. In the worship ceremony, they light a bonfire, sing traditional melodies, dance and wear colorful costumes.  

 

The Hezhe ethnic group is the oldest ethnic group, and it has the lowest population in China. When the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-AD 206) was founded, ancestors of the Hezhe ethnic group already lived in the Three Rivers Area, which refers to the region of Heilongjiang River, Songhua River and Wusuli River. The Hezhe people subsisted on hunting and fishing, and now there are approximately 5,000 Hezhe people living in Northeast China. They are known as northern China’s only ethnic group that bases its lifestyle on hunting and fishing.
 

Because of their unique living conditions, bold personalities and unrestrained behaviors, Hezhe people were never welcomed by the emperors in the Central Plain. For a long time, they wandered outside of the Central Plain and could not receive protection and respect from the ruling class at that time. During the period of the Japanese Manchukuo puppet government, the Hezhe people endured widespread suffering. Japanese troops expelled them into frontier areas and made them survive on their own, causing many of them to die.
 

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Hezhe people’s living conditions changed greatly and their traditional customs have remained. Beautiful moments of their hardworking, happy lives have been recorded in Hezhe melodies. Many Hezhe melodies reflect the scenes in which Hezhe people catch fish on the river, such as Song of the Wusuli River. In the 1950s, the song Dadingzi Mountain is Higher was widely spread and helped Chinese people know about the lives of Hezhe people and their hunting traditions. In addition to the beautiful melodies, the Hezhe people are also good at dancing. Because they idolize masculine beauty, their physical movements are full of energy and leave an unforgettable impression on audiences.