Temple Fairs in Beijing
Beijing's temple fair demonstrates traditions and customs. There are traditional performances including lion shows, talk shows, and kungfu Shows and booths selling local snacks, traditional arts, and crafts. For foreigners, the temple fair is a cultural experience. Here is a list of Beijing's temple fairs to keep you busy and entertained.
Changdian Temple Fair
The Changdian Temple Fair is Beijing's oldest and best-known temple fair. It has everything you'd expect of a temple fair: a mixture of the traditional and modern. There are plenty of goods to tempt you: vendors selling paintings, calligraphic works, antiques, children's toys, crafts, and local snacks.
Performances including martial arts, acrobatics, Peking Opera, talk shows, and folk dancing always keep the crowds entertained throughout the day.
The Changdian Temple fair is the best place to go to learn about northern folk customs represented by Beijing, and is one of the temple fair sites particularly enjoyed by foreigners.
Ditan Park Temple Fair
Ditan Park Fair is one of the busiest temple fairs in Beijing. It has an altar where sacrifices were formerly offered to the earth god. Activities and events during the fair will include a packed entertainment schedule with a variety of performances and hundreds of stalls and booths selling local snacks, handicrafts, antiques, and curios.
Baiyunguan Temple Fair
Baiyunguan Temple is well known as the oldest and best preserved Taoism Temple that possesses the largest variety of Taoism heritage throughout China. The temple has long been one of the destinations that Beijing locals visit during the Spring Festival to pray for blessings.
The Temple Fair is a buzz of traditional folk performances and hundreds of snacks with typical local flavors. In addition, it has Taoist culture exhibitions that attract people who are interested in Taoism.
Longtanhu Temple Fair
Longtanhu Temple Fair is renowned in Beijing for its cultural and fitness activities. It highlights various folk performances and folk arts.
It is also the best choice for sampling a variety of local snacks sold by vendors, such as Chaogan (stir-fried liver), Baodu, Lvdagun, and Yangzasui. You can find a street full of time-honored Beijing traditional snack shops and Tianjin specialties.
Daguanyuan Temple Fair
This temple fair is held at Grand View Park, a replica of the magnificent Daguanyuan garden of an imperial family described in the well-known Chinese novel A Dream of Red Mansions by Qing Dynasty writer Cao Xueqin (1715-1763).
The temple fair is featured in fine cuisine based on the novel, and many time-honored Beijing snacks. Besides, there will be shows of folk arts, Kungfu, "Two-people show" (Er Ren Zhuan) from northeastern China, costumed parades, acrobatics and other ethnic and cultural performances inside and outside the park.
Dongyue Temple Fair
Founded during the Yuan Dynasty, Dongyue Temple is a Daoist (Taoist) temple, dedicated to the God of Mount Tai, known as Dongyue - the easternmost and holiest of the five sacred mountains of Taoism.
The temple fair is one of the oldest temple fairs in Beijing, tracing back to the Yuan Dynasty. The culture of Fu (Good Fortune) has been the essence of this temple fair for centuries.
There are folk-custom shows and other activities such as a Taoist music performance, exhibitions, and sports competitions. It also boasts a huge number of food stalls selling tasty local snacks.
Chaoyang Park Temple Fair
Chaoyang Temple Fair is designated as Chaoyang International Carnival and is held in Chaoyang Park. It features performances by renowned bands from abroad. People can also go skiing, play games, and enjoy the food from foreign countries.
Shijingshan Temple Fair
Shijingshan Temple fair is a foreign-style temple fair. It is almost like a foreign carnival parade. Shijingshan is full of foreign scenes, exotic performances, and ice & snow parties. There will also be other amusement programs, especially for kids.