Stanley Cheong  

Clothes-drying festival by Stanley Cheong

April 2025 - Clothes-drying festival

About the Image(s)

There are 56 ethnic minorities in China, and the Hongyao are one of them.
Every year on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, the Hongyao people in Longji, Guilin, Guangxi hold the most solemn "clothes-drying festival" besides the Spring Festival, which is full of farmhouse atmosphere and ethnic characteristics. On this day, every household of the Hongyao people takes out the floral clothes, ornaments and floral skirts from the bottom of the box to dry them. Strings of red and black clothes are dazzling on the drying rows and corridors of each house, and the "clothes-drying festival" is also named after it. On that day, the Hongyao girls also put on their national costumes and performed a series of performances with traditional ethnic characteristics such as Yao girls embroidering red skills, traditional weaving techniques, and carrying bamboo poles, which attracted many Chinese and foreign tourists and photography enthusiasts to watch and take photos.

Shoot data :
Camara : Nikon Z7II
Lens : Nikkor 24-200mm F4-6.3 VR
Aperture:F9
Shutter speed:1/125s
White balance:Auto
IDO:400

9 comments posted

Jim Wulpi   Jim Wulpi
Stanley,
What a beautiful red, white, and wood-colored composition. The beautiful woman in the window (also dressed in red) really makes this scene and brings it to life and scale. The image would not be the same without her. The black shadow of the open windows compliments the blacks of the clothing. The wooden boards of the building adds a nice contrast to the reds and blacks.
Very nice image.
  Posted: 04/04/2025 17:57:35
Stanley Cheong   Stanley Cheong
Dear Jim Wulpi. Thank you very much for your attention. Every photo must have a focus. In order to achieve this goal, I waited for a long time until a target person appeared in front of the window.

The skirt this girl is wearing is woven by them using traditional weaving methods. It is very ethnic-style, but they rarely wear such skirts on daily. They only wear them like this on some festival days.
  Posted: 04/05/2025 02:09:07
Martin Newland   Martin Newland
Stanley, just by looking at your image I can almost smell those wonderful fragrances around Guilin. My wife and I visited Guilin in 1995 (I am showing my advanced age now) and we had an enjoyable trip down the Li River.
I have just had a look at my old photo album and none of my images come close to the quality and interest of the image you have presented here. I love the colours and I love the lady in her matching dress looking out of the window.
Well done.

  Posted: 04/09/2025 07:49:02
Stanley Cheong   Stanley Cheong
Martin, Thank you for your comment. Guilin is a place in China that many people will travel to. When the river water is calm, the reflection of the mountain and the mountain form a very beautiful image. Many photography enthusiasts are fascinated by it. I have also been to Guilin and took some photos, which I will share with you later.

There are many places worth traveling and taking photo in China. Zhangjiajie in Hunan Province is also very beautiful. If you haven't been there yet, you might consider going there.
  Posted: 04/10/2025 15:48:24
Shirley Pohlman   Shirley Pohlman
A beautiful array of color and patterns. I notice there is more than one of the same piece of clothing. Does the man and woman of the household, and perhaps the children, all wear the same design? The young woman, I feel, helps to bring my eye to the center of interest. Great capture. Thank you again, Stanley, for another lesson on Chinese culture.   Posted: 04/09/2025 23:55:37
Stanley Cheong   Stanley Cheong
Shirley, Thank you for your comment. Yes, the men and women in the family, as well as the children, wear clothes of the same design. The cloth for these garments is woven on a traditional loom and then sewn by hand into a coat or skirt   Posted: 04/10/2025 15:59:06
Karen Botvin   Karen Botvin
Wow, Stanley, what a great image. As others have said, the woman brings life to the image. I love the way she appears to be peaking around the clothing and looking right at you! Thanks so much for giving us some more of the background and cultures from China.   Posted: 04/13/2025 13:14:55
Stanley Cheong   Stanley Cheong
Dear Karen , Thank you for your comments. I live in Macau, which makes it very convenient for me to travel to mainland China for photography. China has a long history, a rich culture, and breathtaking landscapes, offering countless picturesque locations to capture. That's why I often visit mainland China to take photos.

Through photos in PID Digital Dialogue, I also get to see American culture and local customs. This is a great platform that allows me to broaden my horizons and better understand the diverse cultures of the world.
  Posted: 04/13/2025 14:45:53
Piers Blackett   Piers Blackett
Thanks for showing a great display of colors and culture! I am in favor of simplification and would consider cropping off the more cluttered top line of clothing to allow better presentation of the woman with better diagonal matching of blacks and reds in the squares.   Posted: 04/13/2025 20:20:48

 

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