In fact this is a festival for young people to choose their lovers. The historical records of the Miao ethnic group say that in the past, wherever there were Miao people, there was a Sisters Festival. The Festival is held in the period from the first lunar month to the third lunar month. Different places choose different days for the Festival. The festival in Taijiang County is held from the 13th to the 17th of the third lunar month every year.

The Sisters Festival provides an opportunity for young men and women to get together, with the full approval of their elders. The young women are the sponsors and organizers of the Festival, and all the young men have to be guided by them. This custom can be traced back to the ancient period of the matriarchal clan system.

　　Black rice is an important component of the Sisters Festival. This sort of black rice is the same as the dark rice eaten in ancient times. According to the Compendium of Materia Medica:“Dark rice made of glutinous rice and Chinese toon leaves. First, take some tender leaves of the Chinese toon tree, pound them to pieces and squeeze juice from them. Put glutinous rice in the juice, leave it to dry in the sun, and steam it. Then put the dried rice back into toon-leaf juice again, and repeat the process nine times. Finally, the glutinous rice grains will be smaller and have a deep black color. This kind of rice can supplement qi (energy), and strengthen the muscles and bones.”

　　Catching and eating fish is also an important part of The Sisters Festival. It is said that fish breeding is a symbol of marriage. Mr. Wen Yiduo, a noted Chinese writer, cited many old poems and folk songs using fish as a symbol of breeding. So this is evidence that boys and girls catching fish together during the Sisters? Festival is a custom handed down from ancient times.