The Maonan people are brave, enterprising, and have no fear of hardships. They send their children to school no matter how hard their life is, so they can have higher education and there are a large number of intellectuals among them.
Sweet potatoes, beef cattle and colored bamboo hats are their three treasures. The ethnic group is known as the "hometown of beef cattle" as they have gone in for beef cattle husbandry for over 500 years. They are also skilled in craftworks such as bamboo weaving, stone carving and wood carving. The colored bamboo hat, a great favorite with young people, is the token of love between lovers as well as a good present for relatives and friends.
The Pumpkin Festival falls on the Double Ninth Festival-the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. Every family puts pumpkins of irregular shapes on the floor. Young people go from door to door and select a king pumpkin, which should be in good appearance and whose seeds can be seen from the surface. After getting a consistent opinion, a strong man splits the king pumpkin and then the owner removes the flesh and leaves the full seeds as seeds for the coming year. Then the man chops the pumpkin into small cubes and boils them in the pan with millet. The first bowl of porridge is reserved to worship the king pumpkin, and then others can enjoy it.
