Festivals
October
Pomegranate Festival
This annual festival is held every autumn in the Goychay region and celebrates the pomegranate’s traditional uses and symbolic meaning. The fruit is symbolically linked to long-term productivity and abundance in energy. During the festival, the pomegranate’s different uses in cooking is showcased by local cooks and restaurants.
Location Gochay, Azerbaijan
Apple Festival
Every autumn the town of Quba celebrates the apple harvest with a festival which includes troupes performing traditional dances, cooks putting their culinary prowess on display, competitions with categories such as ‘the biggest apple,’ and a wide variety of foods that feature the apple such as jams, juices, dried apples, cake, and bread.
Location Quba, Azerbaijan
Thimphu Tsechu
September - October
This three-day festival held in the capital city is one of the biggest and most important in all of Bhutan. Thousands of visitors flock to see the celebrations, which include a number of vibrant masked dance performances of religious stories and plays by Astaras, or ceremonial clowns; their jesting is said to ward off evil spirits.
Location Thimphu, Bhutan
Lusheng Reed Pipe Festival
September
This is a popular four-day festival celebrated by the Miao ethnic minority of Guizhou. The Lusheng reed pipe dates back to the Tang dynasty and, as a symbol of Miao history, is played throughout the festival at ceremonies and performances of traditional dances. There are horse races on the third day and bullfighting on the fourth.
Location Lusheng, China
Mid-Autumn Festival
September - October
This three-day festival includes a one-day public holiday and is celebrated throughout China. Traditionally observed to give thanks to the moon for the harvest, nowadays it is often referred to as Moon Cake Festival and families celebrate together, eating cakes, sending up lanterns to the full moon and enjoying the festive atmosphere.
Location Countrywide, China
Mtkhetoba-Svetitskhovloba
Held annually in the ancient capital north of Tbilisi, Orthodox Christians in Georgia celebrate Mtskhetoba-Svetitskhovloba in Mtskheta, remembering and celebrating the former capital and the legends of its cathedral. Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, among other legends, is said to be the burial site of Christ's robe. Celebrants visit the city for a number of worship experiences.
Location Mtskheta, Georgia
What Others Say
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Alyssa - Ulysses, KS
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A California father and son
Also unforgettable was our experience driving through Beijing in an old fashioned motorcycle side car followed by lunch with a local family in their traditional hutong house.
