Zhuxi Doll Farm
The Tujia people in Zhuxi Township, Cengong County, have the custom of "going to the doll market" on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month every year. Zhuxi Township is located in the southwest of the county, 31 kilometers away from the new county seat. It is adjacent to Siyang Town in the east, Jianggu Township in Zhenyuan County in the south, Longtian Town in the west, and Tianma Town in the north. The Cen (Gong) Shi (Qian) Highway passes through the township. There are 11 streams in the north and south, which flow into the Longjiang River from the north and south respectively. The section of the Longjiang River that flows through Luojiashan (now Laojie) and Pushang (now Zhuxi) in Zhuxi Township is called Zhuxi. The "Zhuxi Tujia Doll Market" is located in the center of Zhuxi Township Market Town. The villagers who go to the market are all over the villages and neighboring towns in the township. According to the "Yayuan Tian Family Tree", the Zhuxi Doll Market was opened by their ancestor Tian Maoying in the early years of the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. Tian Maoying, the direct descendant of the former Sizhou chieftain Tian, bought land and built houses in order to revive his family business, and moved the Yayuan from the old house to the camp. In order to bring good luck and happiness, Tian Maoying organized people to build a memorial archway and colorful pavilion in Zhuxi Old Street, and the scene was quite grand. It was the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, and the street was crowded with people, gathering in front of the colorful pavilion. The auspicious time was about to arrive. When the Tian family and the relocation team were about to pass through the memorial archway, they suddenly saw a pair of handsome boys and girls holding flowers on both sides of the colorful gate, smiling and greeting them. They quickly rushed to the front and led the Tian family into the street, and then disappeared. Everyone thought that it was the golden boy and jade girl from heaven who came to congratulate the Tian family on moving to the new house. It was a good omen, indicating that the future of the village was bright and the new house was prosperous. Therefore, Tian Maoying stipulated that on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month every year, all families of the Tian family should dress up boys and girls beautifully, and their parents would take them to the old street to go to the market, and asked the vendors on the street to focus on selling children's food, and named this market "Wawa Market", which has been used to this day. On the sixth day of the sixth lunar month every year, children from villages and neighboring towns in Zhuxi Township dress up and, led by their parents, enter the Zhuxi Old Street to attend the market. The masters of the market are children. Merchants mainly sell children's clothes, shoes, toys, fried cakes, yellow paste cakes, rice noodles, candied haws and other children's food. On the streets, people are surging, shoulder to shoulder, and the scene is lively and spectacular. The Zhuxi Tujia June 6th Doll Market is limited to the "doll market" on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month every year, and the main commodities sold are children's products and food. At the same time, its mythical legend places people's good wishes on the next generation, which is an important feature of the Zhuxi Tujia June 6th Doll Market. At the same time, the doll market is a common festival for children of the Tujia, Miao, Dong and Han nationalities in Zhuxi Township. It is also a festival for children of all ethnic groups to interact with each other, exchange emotions and unite and love each other. It conforms to the nature of children who are lively, curious and love to play together, and is conducive to cultivating children's collective concept and promoting personality development. As a traditional ethnic festival unique to the Tujia in Zhuxi Township, the "doll market" was opened and passed down by Tian Maoying, a descendant of the former Sizhou chieftain Tian. After a long period of evolution, it has become a spontaneous festival activity for children of local ethnic minorities. With the development of the market economy, the uniqueness of the children's products in the June 6 doll market has gradually disappeared. If it is not protected accordingly, there is a danger of being assimilated by the township market. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)