On October 8, just as the National Day holiday came to an end, the festive atmosphere at Yecungu Scenic Area in Wuhan had already arrived early. The first annual pig banquet of the year officially opened here, with more than 600 tourists seated together, enjoying a steaming table of farm-style annual pig dishes while watching folk performances such as Hubei drums and dragon and lion dances. Unlike previous years when the event was typically launched around New Year's Day, Yecungu moved the annual pig banquet up to right after the National Day holiday this year. According to Mr. Peng, a relevant person in charge of the scenic area, as early as September, a large number of tourists had inquired and made reservations. "Before the National Day holiday even ended, the first batch of seats had already been snapped up."

The next session of this year's annual pig banquet will be held on October 18 during the Double Ninth Festival, and afterward, one session will be arranged every weekend. Currently, nearly half of the seats for the Double Ninth Festival session have already been booked. Steamed basket dishes at the annual pig banquet. [1] 40 yuan per table, with fish, meat, and a "carrying the steamer basket" ceremony. At noon that day, the banquet area at Yecungu was packed with no empty seats. Calculated at ten people per table, the first event set up more than 60 tables. Tourists tasted Huangpi three delicacies, steamed basket dishes, and farm-style local dishes while watching performances on stage. The entire event included more than ten programs, with performances lasting about one and a half hours; from the start of the banquet to the end, the complete experience took approximately two and a half to three hours.

This year's annual pig banquet retained core folk customs such as the "carrying the annual pig parade" and the "carrying the steamer basket banquet." The slaughtered annual pig was carried around the venue, and tourists raised their phones to take photos, creating a strong sense of ceremony. Scene from a previous annual pig banquet. Mr. Peng introduced that the annual pig banquet requires advance booking so the scenic area can count the number of people and prepare ingredients. Each table has at least ten dishes, including local farm-style dishes, pork dishes, and staple foods. The meal costs 40 yuan per person, and tourists can also share tables. "Eating a meal outside also costs 40 yuan, but here there is fish, meat, and performances — very cost-effective," Mr. Peng said. "When I was a child eating in the countryside, dishes were brought out plate by plate, and everyone sat around together, giving a strong feeling of a big family," said tourist Ms. Huang. She said the live music was pleasant and the atmosphere lively, reminding her of scenes of eating with family in the past. "The festive flavor has arrived early, and it feels very special."

Many tourists said that after the National Day holiday, they had thought the travel enthusiasm would decline, but unexpectedly in Huangpi they could still catch such a lively folk banquet. Some specifically brought their children to experience "carrying the annual pig," while others came for Huangpi three delicacies and steamed basket dishes. "Carrying the steamer basket" parade around the venue. [2] First batch of seats sold out in September, immersive scene-based annual pig banquet to be launched. The Yecungu annual pig banquet has now been held for three consecutive years. The first two events were mostly held around New Year's Day. The previous session had more than 2,000 participants in a single event, and over the three days of New Year's Day, cumulative visitor numbers exceeded 10,000, attracting tourists from places such as Henan and Anhui who made special trips to "attend the banquet." Staff carrying dishes for tourists at the annual pig banquet. This year, while retaining traditional folk rituals, the scenic area further upgraded the immersive scene. After the Double Ninth Festival, Yecungu will also launch a newly created scene-based immersive annual pig banquet. In addition to eating the annual pig banquet, tourists can also participate in pounding glutinous rice cakes, visit rural markets, and watch intangible cultural heritage performances such as Hubei drums and dragon and lion dances, forming a complete experience that is "watchable, edible, participatory, and takeaway."

"Actually, these dishes are not rare — any restaurant in Wuhan can make them," Mr. Peng said. "The atmosphere of so many people sitting around together and having a lively meal is something a restaurant cannot provide. People are not here for rare delicacies; they are here to find the 'festive flavor,' to find a feeling of joy and reunion." Steamed basket dishes. The annual pig banquet also boosted income for surrounding farmers. The annual pigs used for the banquet come from free-range pigs raised by nearby villagers, and after unified quarantine inspection, they are slaughtered in a standardized manner; the scenic area also provides free exhibition and sales booths for surrounding merchants and farmers, and any unsold agricultural products are purchased by the scenic area as a fallback. During previous events, each booth earned an average revenue of about 2,000 yuan. Local specialties such as native pork, handmade bean silk, and Huangpi tea thus directly reached the tables and car trunks of urban tourists. After the National Day holiday is usually the off-season for rural tourism. By opening the annual pig banquet early, Yecungu not only met the demand for nearby trips after the Golden Week but also turned a traditional folk banquet into a lively scene connecting urban and rural areas and driving agricultural tourism consumption.