The people of Shui ethnic group mainly inhabit in compact communities in Sandu Shui Autonomous County of Guizhou Province. Duan Festival is Shui people's most grand traditional festival, which is equivalent to the Spring Festival of the Han nationality. According to the provisions in Shui Script and Shui Calendar, which are Shui nationality's ancient books and records, the Duan Festival is held at the end of an old year or the beginning of a new year of Shui calendar during the crop harvest, so as to celebrate the harvest, bid farewell to the old and usher in the new, and this period are equivalent to August to October of the lunar calendar.
Duan Festival of the Shui people is calculated according to the Shui Script and Shui Calendar, and it lasts for 49 days, being the longest festival in the world. Shui Festival is also named Gua Festival, and in Shui language it is called "borrow Gua" or "borrow Duan". In Shui calendar, there are 12 months and 4 seasons in a year, among which September is the beginning of the year while August is the end of the year, and the twelve earthly branches are used to record the dates. From the 12th month of a Shui calendar year to the 2nd month of the next Shui calendar year, the people in different places celebrate the "Hai" day in turn, and it will take 7 batches to finish the "Hai" day (in ancient times it took 9 batches). The Duan Festival is a relic of ancient clan tribes' custom of celebrating harvest and New Year.
