More than 250 women joined together to set a new Guinness World Records title that celebrated their beautiful culture.
Red Yao women from a number of villages met in Huangluo Yao Village in Longsheng Autonomous County, Guilin, China, on 22 April to create the longest hair combing chain.
It was all part of the annual Longji Long Hair Festival.
The women dressed in beautiful costumes as they headed to the local Moon Island and stood along the river, singing the "Long Hair Ballad".
In the presence of a crowd of locals and tourists, the 256 Red Yao women formed a 456 m (1,496 ft) chain and began combing the hair of the woman in front of them with wooden combs.
Huangluo Yao Village is located in the Longji Scenic Area in Longsheng, Guilin, inhabited by the Red Yao people. The Red Yao is a branch of the Yao people, one of China's ethnic minorities. It is called the Red Yao because the women in the village are as passionate as fire and are most beautiful in red, which is a distinctive feature reflected in their clothing.
Since ancient times, the women of the Red Yao have the traditional habit of keeping their hair long, and they will only cut it once in their lifetime when they are 18 years old.
In the hearts of Red Yao women, long hair has a very important meaning. Long hair symbolizes long life and wealth, prosperity and good fortune. Red Yao women treasure their hair and have many secret hair care recipes.
In the village, it is rare to see a single white hair, even in the elderly. This custom of growing and combing hair, which has been passed down from generation to generation, has led the Red Yao to invent their own unique recipes for hair care.
It is said that they never use modern shampoo, but put grapefruit peel, tea oil dregs and a secret blend of herbs into fermented rice water, then boil it and use it to wash their hair after it cools down.
They put their long hair in the rice water to soak for a period of time so it fully absorbs the nutrients, then wash and comb it with spring water. These special hair care recipes leave the long hair soft, black, shiny, and with no split ends.
The charming top style they wear their hair in has become an iconic image that attracts a large number of Chinese and foreign tourists to visit the village every day.
In addition to the Guinness World Records attempt, the special event also included the ancient and mysterious rite of passage festival for young Red Yao girls, the original Red Yao song and dance performance, the national intangible cultural heritage display of Red Yao costumes, the Red Yao costume runway show, a large bonfire party and other activities.
Read this story in Chinese.
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