On October 8, just as the National Day holiday ended, the festive flavor of the New Year had already arrived early at the Yecungu Scenic Area in Wuhan. The first annual pig feast of the year officially opened here, with more than 600 visitors sitting together, enjoying a steaming table of farm-style New Year pig feast while watching folk performances such as Hubei drums and dragon and lion dances. Unlike previous years when the event typically started around New Year's Day, Yecungu moved the annual pig feast up to right after the National Day holiday this year. Mr. Peng, a person in charge at the scenic area, explained that as early as September, a large number of visitors had been inquiring and making reservations. "Before the National Day holiday even ended, the first batch of seats was already fully booked." According to reports, the next session of this year's annual pig feast will be held on October 18 during the Double Ninth Festival, and after that, one session will be arranged every weekend. Currently, nearly half of the seats for the Double Ninth Festival session have already been reserved. Steamed basket dishes at the annual pig feast. [1] 40 Yuan Per Person, With Fish, Meat, and a "Carrying the Steamer Basket" Ceremony At noon that day, the dining area at Yecungu was completely full. Based on ten people per table, the first event set up more than 60 tables. Visitors enjoyed Huangpi three delicacies, steamed basket dishes, and farm-style local dishes while watching performances on stage. The entire event included more than ten acts, with performances lasting about one and a half hours; from the start of the meal to the end, the complete experience took roughly two and a half to three hours. This year's annual pig feast retained core folk customs such as the "pig parade" and the "carrying the steamer basket feast." The slaughtered pig was carried around the venue for a full lap, and visitors eagerly raised their phones to take photos, creating a strong sense of ceremony. Scene from a previous annual pig feast. Mr. Peng explained that the annual pig feast requires advance booking so the scenic area can count attendees and prepare ingredients. Each table has at least a dozen dishes, including local farm-style dishes, pork dishes, and staples. The meal costs 40 yuan per person, and visitors can also share tables. "Eating a meal outside also costs 40 yuan, but here there is fish, meat, and performances — very good value for money," Mr. Peng said. "When I was little, meals in the countryside were brought out dish by dish, and everyone sat around together, giving a strong feeling of a big family," said visitor Ms. Huang. She added that the live music was pleasant and the atmosphere lively, reminding her of scenes of eating with her family in the past. "The New Year flavor has arrived early, and it feels very special." Many visitors said that after the National Day holiday, they had originally expected travel enthusiasm to decline, but did not expect to encounter such a lively folk banquet in Huangpi. Some brought their children specifically to experience the "carrying the pig" ritual, while others came for the Huangpi three delicacies and steamed basket dishes. The "carrying the steamer basket" parade around the venue. [2] First Batch of Seats Snapped Up in September, Immersive Scenarios to Be Introduced The Yecungu annual pig feast has now been held for three consecutive years. The first two events were mostly held around New Year's Day. The previous edition drew more than 2,000 participants per session, and over the three days of New Year's Day, cumulative visitor numbers exceeded 10,000, attracting visitors from places such as Henan and Anhui who made special trips to "attend the banquet." Staff carrying dishes for visitors at the annual pig feast. This year, while retaining traditional folk rituals, the scenic area further upgraded the immersive experience. After the Double Ninth Festival, Yecungu will also launch a newly created immersive annual pig feast with staged scenarios. In addition to eating the annual pig feast, visitors can also participate in pounding glutinous rice cakes, visit a rural market, and watch intangible cultural heritage performances such as Hubei drums and dragon and lion dances, forming a complete experience that is "viewable, edible, participatory, and take-home." "Actually, these dishes are not unusual. Any restaurant in Wuhan can make them," Mr. Peng said. "But the atmosphere of so many people sitting around and enjoying a lively meal together is something a restaurant cannot provide. People are not here for rare delicacies; they are here to find the 'New Year flavor,' to find a feeling of festivity and reunion." Steamed basket dishes. The annual pig feast has also driven income growth for surrounding farmers. The pigs used for the banquet come from nearby villagers' free-range livestock and are slaughtered in a standardized way after unified quarantine inspection. The scenic area also provides free exhibition and sales stalls for nearby businesses and farmers, and the scenic area guarantees purchase of unsold agricultural products. During previous events, each stall earned an average of about 2,000 yuan in revenue, and local specialties such as native pork, handmade bean threads, and Huangpi tea directly reached urban visitors' dining tables and car trunks. After the National Day holiday is usually the off-season for rural tourism. By opening the annual pig feast earlier, Yecungu both captured surrounding tourism demand after the Golden Week and turned a traditional folk banquet into a lively scene connecting urban and rural areas and boosting agricultural tourism consumption.