Beijing's temple fairs are ideal venues to immerse yourself in
Chinese folk culture this Spring Festival holiday. There are so
many traditional foods to try, fanciful toys for children,
interesting goods to buy for home, and performances to watch.
Beijing's temple fairs combine a carnival atmosphere with a
market. Some fairs retain their religious association and are
located inside temples, while others are simply for entertainment,
with markets.
Temple fairs originated in the Liao Dynasty (907-1125), and grew
more popular in the following Yuan (1279-1368), Ming (1368-1644)
and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.
There were three kinds of temple fairs. The first kind was held
every month, combining trade with entertainment. The second type
were fairs during important religious occasions for Buddhist and
Taoist temples. The third category was specialized fairs of a
certain line of business, for example, those of cooks, carpenters,
or flower farmers.
Many temple fairs stopped during the "cultural
revolution"(1966-76), before making their comeback in the
1980s.
Temple fairs are now mostly held only during Spring Festival,
with the biggest ones at Changdian'er, Ditan Park, Dongyuemiao
Taoist Temple, Baiyunguan Taoist Temple, and Longtanhu Park.
At temples, believers pray for an auspicious New Year.
Meanwhile, temple fairs held at parks have become more of a
combination of fancy goods, food markets, and entertainment venues.
In ancient times, these fairs lasted from Spring Festival Day to
the Lantern Festival which falls on the 15th day of the first month
of lunar calendar. But now they last the holiday week, from
February 6-12 this year.
Baiyunguan (白云觀White Cloud Taoist Temple) is Beijing's largest
Taoist Temple, and the earliest in history to hold a fair. There
are lion dances, stilt and land boat performances, donkey riding,
as well as candles, religious statues, food and toys for sale. As
the headquarters of China Taoist Association, there are also Taoist
religious ceremonies. 10 yuan per person. February 7-12. Baiyunguan
Jie, Binhe Lu outside of Xibianmen, Xicheng District.
6344-3666.西城區西便門外濱河路白云觀街.
Changdian'er (廠甸) temple fair is 400 years old, and is the place
to find Chinese antiques, porcelain works, calligraphy, ancient
books and paintings. It is located on a wide road at Liulichang
near the antique store hub of Hepingmen. There is also a stage to
perform Peking operas, as well as other traditional entertainment
such as mast carrying stunts, stilts, and folk dance, besides
plenty of food stands. February 6-12. Crossroad at Hepingmen,
Nanxinhua Jie, Xuanwu District. 6304-2831.
北起宣武區南新華街和平門路口，向南經虎坊橋路口至虎坊路文化廣場.
Ditan (地壇Temple of Earth) Park has been holding temple fairs for
the past 20 years, and is one of the busiest during Spring
Festival. The park will be decorated with colorful lanterns, small
windmills, and traditional paintings. The food stand area has
plenty of local foods such as Beijing traditional dim sum, and
Sichuan snacks. People can play traditional games such as dart
flying, loop throwing with trophies, and Chinese ancient sedan
chair riding. There will also be performances imitating ancient
Chinese emperor's sacrifice ceremony to the God of Earth. Entry
costs 10 yuan per person. February 6-13. North of Yonghegong Qiao,
South Second Ring Road, Dongcheng District. 6421-4657.
東城區北二環雍和宮橋北
There are also traditional temple fairs at Dongyuemiao Taoist
Temple (February 6-12) located at Chaoyangmenwai Dajie, where
Beijing Folk Custom Museum is located, Beijing Grand View Garden
(February 7-11) in Xuanwu District, with its Dream of Red Mansion
themes, and Beijing Sculpture Park (February 4-12), with a theme of
Spring Festival customs in China. Beijing Chaoyang Park will hold
an international cultural festival (February 7-12), which showcases
foreign as well as Chinese customs. Huairou's Hongluosi Temple, a
1,600-year-old Buddhist temple, will organize a fair (February
7-12) featuring local foods and folk performances. At Chongwen
District's Longtanhu Park (February 6-13), people can experience 28
Olympic sports items and vie for championship, including shooting,
archery and boating.
Fireworks and firecrackers are another attraction of Spring
Festival. For centuries the Chinese have lit firecrackers to greet
the coming of Chinese New Year, and to celebrate important
occasions such as wedding. Generations of Chinese people grew up
with fond memories of setting off firecrackers in their
childhood.
In 1994 Beijing and many other major Chinese cities started to
ban firecrackers and fireworks, after several major fireworks
accidents that cost many lives. In 2006 Beijing changed from a
complete ban to a partial ban. The city bans fireworks and
firecrackers within the Fifth Ring Road, with Spring Festival
holiday period an exception.
This year people can set off fireworks on February 6, 11, and
21. They are allowed to set off fireworks from 7am-midnight from
February 7-10, and 12-20.
Beijing has 2,196 fireworks selling points this year, including
638 stationed within the Fifth Ring Road. Most of these stores will
be in temporary sheds, but people can also buy fireworks at more
than 60 supermarkets including Jingkelong, Merry Mart, and Walmart.
There is supposed to be one fireworks store within 500 meters from
your home within the Fifth Ring Road.
Safety is a very important issue for people who love to set off
fireworks. Beijing bans fireworks within 500 meters of an Olympic
venue. Make sure you put the fireworks in the right position, and
keep them away from people, architecture and flammable objects.
Protect your eyes.
(China Daily February 2, 2008)
