In China’s southwestern Guizhou province, more than 30,000 ethnic Yi Chinese celebrated their Torch Festival or Fire Festival this week.

Falling on the 24th, 25th and 26th days of the sixth lunar month of the year, the festival is seen as one of the most important for the Yi people. Here we see a giant bonfire in the center of Liupanshui city, while the locals also put out torches on their door steps to drive away bad luck. Dressed in traditional Yi garb, they will perform their dances and play their music well into the night.

The Yi are a minority group in China who live in the hills and valleys of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces in southwestern China. They are a people rich in culture and tradition that has been passed down through the centuries.

About 300,000 people attended the festivities in the region during the three-day festival.