Sanyuesan — the third day of the third lunar month — is the most important festival in the Zhuang calendar, celebrated with particular energy in Chongzuo and the surrounding region. The core of the festival is antiphonal singing competitions, in which men and women from different villages challenge each other in improvised song, the lyrics playful and often flirtatious, the melodies in the pentatonic scales of traditional Zhuang music. It is the kind of event that sounds folklorically staged when described and turns out to be genuinely alive when you see it.
Bamboo dances, traditional sports, and elaborate costumes accompany the singing, and the markets that spring up around festival gatherings sell food and crafts that are harder to find the rest of the year. The date floats in April or early May depending on the lunar calendar. Chongzuo city hosts formal events, but the village celebrations in the surrounding countryside — more spontaneous and less organised for external consumption — are often more interesting if you can get to them.