Yuxi Rice Noodle Festival (also known as Lantern Festival) is a traditional festival in Hongta district. Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, each year from the first day of the first lunar month to the 15th day of the second lunar month, according to a fixed schedule that formed naturally, cities, villages, and streets take turns to welcome "god of the land", "town god" and "patriarch”. The activity of worshiping god of the land was first recorded in Yuxi’s Chen Clan Pedigree · Caochi Records: "In the February of the forty-third year of Jiajing in the Ming dynasty (AD 1564), people from town welcomed city god and god of the land, and worshipped them everywhere."

In the past, Yuxi had four "gods of the land" and eighteen "patriarchs". There were regulations on which villages should welcome which "god of the land". At that time, apart from preparing sacrifices, the villages and streets also prepare gongs and drums, festive lanterns, dragon lanterns, and lion lanterns to welcome “god of the land”. After “god of the land” entered the village, in addition to slaughtering chicken and offering sacrifices, people also sing local operas and lantern opera for three days. Each family will slaughter chickens, purchase meat, prepare wine and rice noodles to entertain the married daughters, sons-in-law, and other relatives and friends who have been picked up in advance.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the custom of Yuxi Rice Noodle Festival passed on, and the scope continued to expand. The 81-day long Rice Noodle Festival in Yuxi begins from the first day of the first lunar month, according to the agreed schedule, each village takes turns to welcome god of the land in order to pray for peace and prosperity in the coming year, good weather for the crops and good harvest. In 2011, it was recognized as "the longest festival in the world" by the World Record Association.