"Qiang New Year" refers to the area that originated and spread in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, Mianyang City, covering an area of 2,869 square kilometers, bordering Jiangyou City in the east, Maoxian County in the west, Songpan and Pingwu counties in the north, 103044' to 104027' east longitude, 31049' to 32013' north latitude, with a maximum altitude of 4,769 meters, a minimum altitude of 540 meters, and a relative height difference of 4,229 meters. It belongs to the northern subtropical humid monsoon climate, with mild climate, abundant rainfall, and distinct four seasons. In the course of thousands of years of historical development, the Qiang people in Beichuan lived in a relatively independent and closed environment, thus forming their own unique traditional culture. In terms of festivals and celebrations, it clearly reflects the characteristics of the traditional culture of the Qiang nationality. The most grand and solemn one is the "Qiang New Year", the New Year of the Qiang people, on the first day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar. In order to distinguish it from the Spring Festival of the Han nationality, it is also called "Qiang New Year" or "Little New Year", which has a long historical origin. According to the classic "Mujiezhu" of the primitive religion of the Qiang people, Mujiezhu, the youngest daughter of the god Mubita, insisted on coming down to earth to marry the Qiang youth Douanzhu. Before leaving, her parents gave her tree seeds, grain and livestock as dowry. After Mujiezhu came to the mortal world, she quickly multiplied the human race, and the trees she planted suddenly became forests, the grain harvest was abundant, and the livestock were in large numbers. Mujiezhu did not forget the kindness of her parents, so after the autumn harvest, she placed the abundant harvest of grain and fat livestock on the field to wish the heaven a happy birthday. From then on, "Qiang New Year" became a day for the Qiang people to celebrate the harvest and thank the heaven. In the past, every time the "Qiang New Year" came, each village would hold a grand celebration. At that time, all the men, women, old and young in the village would wear festive costumes, bring offerings, wine and food, and gather at the celebration site set up in the wild. The celebration generally consists of two parts: sacrifice and entertainment, and is hosted by the respected elders in the village. First, goats or yaks are slaughtered to worship the gods, and models of ferocious beasts made of paper are burned to thank the gods and drive away the evil spirits. Then, men, women, old and young form circles on the lawn, singing and dancing, commonly known as the festive Shalang dance. Then they start drinking wine, giving each other delicious food, and wishing the new year together. They revel until late at night before returning home with great pleasure. Due to historical reasons, the celebration of the "Qiang New Year" was once interrupted. In 1986, some Qiang compatriots in Beijing proposed to restore the "Qiang New Year", which was supported by the State Ethnic Affairs Commission. On the first day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar in 1987, the Sichuan Provincial Ethnic Affairs Commission held the first "Qiang New Year" celebration meeting after the "Cultural Revolution" in Chengdu. Since then, the Qiang areas have unified the first day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar every year as the "Qiang New Year" and carried out celebration activities. The celebration of the Qiang New Year in Beichuan has never been interrupted for more than a decade. What is different from the past is that the celebration is no longer organized by villages and towns, but mainly by townships. The county-wide celebration of the Qiang New Year held in the county seat is particularly grand. The "Qiang New Year" is an open and social festival. People go out of their homes, gather together, celebrate the festival together, celebrate the harvest together, and look forward to the future together. The atmosphere is festive and warm. Therefore, it is not only valued by the Qiang people, but also deeply loved by people of all ethnic groups. "Qiang New Year", also known as "Little New Year", has a long historical origin. According to the classic "Mujiezhu" of the Qiang primitive religion, Mujiezhu, the youngest daughter of the god Mubita, insisted on coming down to earth to marry the Qiang youth Douanzhu. Before leaving, her parents gave her tree seeds, grain and livestock as dowry. After Mujiezhu came to the mortal world, she quickly multiplied humans, the trees she planted suddenly became forests, the grain harvest was abundant, and the livestock were in herds. Mujiezhu did not forget the kindness of her parents, so after the autumn harvest, she placed the harvested grain and fat livestock on the field to wish God a happy birthday. From then on, the Qiang New Year became a day for the Qiang people to celebrate the harvest and thank God. In the past, each village held a grand celebration to celebrate the "Qiang New Year". The celebration generally consists of two parts: sacrifice and entertainment. First, goats or yaks are slaughtered to sacrifice to the gods, and models of ferocious beasts made of paper are burned to thank the heavens and drive away the evil spirits. Then men, women, old and young form circles on the lawn, singing and dancing, commonly known as dancing the festive Shalang. Then they start drinking wine, giving each other delicious food, and celebrating the new year. They party until late at night before returning home happily. Now, the celebration is no longer organized by villages, but mainly by towns and villages, and the county-wide "Qiang New Year" celebration is held in the county seat. Information source: Mianyang Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center Information source: Mianyang Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center