Anren Ganfenshe is the folk festivals activities in Anren County, Chenzhou City, Hunan Province which closely link to Yan Emperor Shen Nong and the county people spontaneously organize and participate in since ancient times. The main content of Anren Ganfenshe activities is worshipping the gods and praying for bountiful harvest, assembling and associating, trading at the fair, and taking Chinese herbs and working in the fields. In 2006, Anren Ganfenshe was enrolled into the first batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage protection list in Hunan Province.

Worship the Gods and pray for bountiful harvest

The herbal market in Commercial Street

Ganfenshe market

The origin:

Anren County is located in the southeast of Hunan Province, north of Chenzhou City, and border on Yanling County. Legend of Yandi Shennong in this area with the invention of farm tools, open fields to teach, first taste Herbs, Anren because of the atmosphere before the first, with this folk. Legend of Emperor Yan Shennong invented tools, opened fields to cultivate and tasted hundreds of herbs in this area. Anren County has the folk custom because of the legend stories.

The "gan" and "fen" of Anren Ganfenshe means the Spring Equinox of the lunar twenty-four solar terms. The "she" is the omitted name of "spring sacrifice and sacrifices to the god of the land". The "spring sacrifice" is the fifth E day to offering sacrifices to Land Gods after the beginning of spring and the "sacrifices to the god of the land" is the day of "worship of Gods"; "Ganfenshe" with a word means that people rush to the county to worship of Gods in the Vernal Equinox. According to Anren dialect, another layer of meaning of "fen" is the day that people regardless of adults and children can "assign (exchange)" something; "she" also has a layer of meaning that people are in droves to rally and worship of Gods and trade in this day; "gan" is that people regardless of men and women, regardless of the status of rich and poor, must put the hands of things aside and rush to the county to worship of Gods（Yan Emperor Shen Nong）no matter how busy on the occasion of the Spring Equinox. The friends and the strangers meet in the party, trade the grain, farming tools and Chinese herbal medicine, and exchange of agricultural experience and health care methods. The activities time is the 3 days before and after the Spring Equinox, and start to open the fields for spring ploughing and spring planting after eating the Chinese herbal medicine.

Development:

Anren is with grand mountains and beautiful scenery from ancient time. Anren County Committee and County Government take the Anren Ganfenshe as an opportunity to promote Shennong medicine culture and create medicine industry. From the beginning of 2000, they have started to use the advantages of traditional herbal medicine culture to expand the opening taking the festival as the media, speed up the pace of investment, and successfully hold the China Anren Spring Festival Fair.

Significant meaning:

Anren Ganfenshe is a wonderful work in folk culture and has a very important value. Firstly, it is with the spiritual value of Chinese nation self-improvement, pioneering and dedication. Secondly, it is with a typical county cultural value. Thirdly, it is with the scientific value of national medicine. Fourthly, it is with a natural economic value. Fifthly, it is with the aesthetic value of the local cultural landscape.