Various Folk Customs on the Temple Fairs

The worship of gods and Buddha occupied a significant part in people’s lives in the past. Pious Lmen and women gathered in temples to pray for blessings, which brought prosperity to people such as peddlers and folk entertainers. Then came miaohui (temple fairs), which amazingly combine religious rituals, markets, entertainment, folk arts and social activities.

Held every Spring Festival in temples, at parks, on streets and in the countryside, temple fairs provide a stage for various forms of folk culture.

Everything can be sold at temple fairs, from plants and birds to antiques and paintings; there are clothes and shoes, pots and pans, needles and threads and evengrain crops. You can also see china, tinwork, cloisonne and enamel. Kites, lanterns, windmills, silk pouches in various shapes and colors are dazzling. Papercuttings in particular have a ready market during Spring Festival.

Everybody”invites”（they don’t call it”buy”）pieces in the shape of”fu”（happiness）and”shou”（longevity）.Otherpopular designs include”jiqingyouyu”（luck and affluence）and”ruyijixiang”（luck as one wishes）.The craftsmen sell what they are making right at the fairs.They blow sugarfigurines，knead soft clay into art ware，make dolls with the husk of coconuts，and weave crickets，dragonflies and little baskets for katydids with straws.You can also find shadow-play figures hand-made from high-quality leather and painted in red，yellow，cyan，green and black.

These relics provide a glimpse of a dying art form.You can also taste all kinds of food with local flavor，such as noodles and barbeque from the north，and dim sum and soup from the south.Folk artists set up stalls，providing traditional operas，acrobatics，magic，martial arts，songs，dances and other live entertainment.

The Chinese like to celebrate traditional festivals in hui （large gatherings）.Besides miaohui（temple fairs），there are also fengzhenghui（kite fairs），saimahui（horse races），longzhouhui（dragon boat races），duigehui（people singing back and forth）and Nadamn games（Mongolian festival of harvest）.Shehuo plays，held on the 15th of the first lunar month，is a parade of land boats，stilt-walking，lion dances and other stunts，led and directed by a traditional orchestra.Shanhui（mountain fairs），held twice a year in Jinan on the third day of the third lunar month and the ninth day of the ninth lunar month，is an occasion for Buddha worship and outings in the countryside.Stalls selling incense and all kinds of local products are set up along the road in Mountain Qianfo（a-thousand-buddhas）.Guang Zhou hosts flower fairs every Lunar New Year’s Eve，when the streets are lit up，with peonies，lilies，chrysanthemum，dahlia and roses vying for beauty.The annual lantern festival in the Confucius temple in Nanjing is another famous event，where visitors can enjoy the great theme lanterns such as”the capital of six ancient dynasties.”It is an unforgettable experience to take a boat trip down the River Qinhuai，with lavish lantern displays along the banks.

hancheng

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