The New Rice Festival is a traditional agricultural festival of the Hani people observed in the eighth lunar month when the first crop of rice is harvested. Every household uses new rice to offer sacrifices to their ancestors and to feed their dogs to commemorate the daughter of the Heavenly God who brought rice to the earth.

Yiche is the oldest branch of the Hani people. Legend has it that when Prince Yiche fled to evade being killed by his brothers, the Heavenly God Momi let a white conical hat called Pachang fall onto the ground and asked the prince to wear it. The prince hided himself in white flowers and evaded being killed. From then on, women of the Yiche branch wore white conical hats.