Abstract

The Sea Sacrifice Festival in Tianheng town, Qingdao, China starts from Ming dynasty and enjoys a history of more than 500 years. As the largest and most famous festival of offering sacrifice to the sea in China, it develops from the traditional ritual performed by fishermen, who intended to pray for blessing and safety from the God of the Sea into a huge carnival attending by thousands of people to express their aspiration for a wonderful life and bright future. This day, the sea sacrifice festival has the new social values and cultural connotations due to the change of life style, the rise of intangible cultural heritage protection activities, and the integration of many other culture elements, such as Yanko, drum, and Peking opera performance.