Xidong, leaping the fire pits
The night of the fifteenth and the afternoon of the sixteenth of the first month, at Xidong in Zhanlong, Puning, Jieyang: ten fire pits are set along the village roads by quarter, and the file leaps each in turn, starting from the north of the village and coming round in a circle. The sixteenth afternoon is a second leaping before the gods go back into the temple, and fire leapt in daylight is not often seen. No entry in the heritage lists.
1. Invited out on the eleventh, leaping on the fifteenth and sixteenth
On the eleventh of the first month the gods are invited out of the temple; on the fifteenth night fires are lit by quarter and the file leaps pit after pit; on the sixteenth afternoon it leaps once more before the return. Three days make one line, and the leaping takes up two stretches of it.
| Year | Lunar date | Gregorian |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 15th and 16th of the 1st month | 20 February, Saturday; 21 February, Sunday |
| 2028 | 15th and 16th of the 1st month | 9 February, Wednesday; 10 February, Thursday |
| 2029 | 15th and 16th of the 1st month | 27 February, Tuesday; 28 February, Wednesday |
| 2030 | 15th and 16th of the 1st month | 17 February, Sunday; 18 February, Monday |
| 2031 | 15th and 16th of the 1st month | 6 February, Thursday; 7 February, Friday |
The Gregorian column is a calendar conversion and does not mean it will be held that way; no announcement for 2027 or later has been seen.
2. Ten pits, one circuit of the village
A fire pit is not one great blaze but ten places set along the village roads, beginning at the north end and running on quarter by quarter. The file leaps them one after another, and once a stretch is done that quarter has been walked.
Each quarter piles and keeps its own pit. Who brings the firewood and who watches the fire is the village’s business, and the reports do not go into it.
3. The order of the file
As described from the ground: banners first, then lanterns and drums, then the palanquin, with the villagers last. The order is the same as at most Chaoshan processions — the sound goes out first, then the god, then the people.
Fire by daylight is rarer than fire at night. The sixteenth afternoon has better light and the people can be seen, which is the session most photographers wait for.
Getting there: the nearest station is Puning, for Xidong in Zhanlong town, then a car from the station. The sixteenth afternoon disperses early, leaving time to get back. In festival time village roads often run one way or are closed at short notice, and a navigation estimate excludes parking and the walk in; a night session often ends after nine, and the way back should be checked against the year’s timetable rather than reasoned from past experience.
4. Where to stand
Two layers: how past reporting describes it, and where this site suggests standing.
As past reporting describes it. The file leaps the pits quarter by quarter and no one stands in front of the run; the report gives no fixed viewing area and no cordon.
An editorial note. Stand behind and to the side of a pit, not in front of the run; wear long sleeves and trousers in cotton, not synthetics or down; the smoke and sparks are heavy, so wear a mask. These are suggestions made here from standing at such sessions, not the guidance of a fire or emergency management department.
5. Sources
| Source | Body | Date | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xidong village entry | Puning party and community service platform | none found | the inviting out on the eleventh, the leaping on the fifteenth and sixteenth, the ten pits, the start at the north end, the order of the file |
There is only this one source, a village profile that carries no announcement for the year; neither the starting and closing times nor a map of the pits could be found.
6. What comes next
In lunar order: on the same days, the Dachanglong lantern greeting, the three mountain kings go out and Hepu ying lao ye; after it, Xikou, through the sugarcane lanes on the sixteenth. Also in Jieyang are the Yangmei torch festival and the Qiaolin firework dragon.
Elsewhere on the site: ying lao ye: its form and the village days, Jieyang routes, the ritual year.
Back to the Chaoshan procession calendar for all twenty-three sessions.
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Last revised: 4 November 2026