Beijing Weekend
By Li Jin

The goat is about to give way to the monkey under the Chinese lunar calendar.

The celebration of the Spring festival is a traditional time to mark the end of one year and the beginning of the next.

For many, the best way to celebrate with other people and get a flavour of local customs and traditions is by visiting one of the time-honoured temple fairs held in Beijing.

Beijing boasts many temples and consequently has a history of temple fairs dating back thousands of years.

In the past, temple fairs allowed citizens to participate in religious ceremonies, buy and sell goods and enjoy folk performances.

However, temple fairs in Beijing now are only held during the Spring Festival and help recall traditions of the past ?as well as being lively opportunities for celebration and entertainment in the present day.

What to see

Folk performances

Many of these performances cannot be found in theatres or anywhere else these days.

Stilt-walking and drum performances are regular features at any temple fair. Colourfully clad performers walk on two-metre-high stilts and greet visitors.

Acrobatics, martial arts performances, horse-riding performances and folk art displays by skilled craftsmen are amongst the other attractions.

In recent years, farmers bring more and more country goods and game tricks to entice the passers-by. You can even take a ride on a donkey with an embroidered saddle.

Peking Opera and many other regional variations attract older people.

Youngsters flock to fashion shows featuring pretty Chinese and foreign models.

Snacks

You won't go hungry at a temple fair. Snacks are displayed in lines of booths , just asking to be tasted! It's one way to sample the many flavours of different ethnic groups across China.

Everywhere you go, the aromas of cooking food fill the air. Look out for birds, grasshoppers, fish and snakes being formed from boiling sugar and put on a stick and sold as lollipops.

Fried pie, soybean milk, rice cake, fried cake, bean curd, tea soup, toasted sweet potato, ravioli soup, baked sesame-seed cake and delicacies from land and sea can all be found.

Shop around

Most of the temple fair places are filled with booths offering various small cheap products ranging from tea, pot flowers, paintings, ceramics, books, birds and toys.

Most goods displayed at temple fairs still relate in some way to old traditions.

If you are a skillful buyer, you will find lots of cheap things here.

Remember bargaining is always necessary at temple fairs.

Pomp and ceremony

Grand religious ceremonies have been held in some temple fairs like Ditan, Tiantan and Baiyunguan (White Cloud Temple) in recent years. In Ditan or Tiantan, you can see the imperial sacrifice ceremony. In this, performers are dressed in imperial clothing of the Qing court.

Snap happy

Take your camera if you plan a temple fair trip in Beijing. It's a great insight into the lives of Beijing people in the past and present. The crowded temple fair offers a good chance for photographic creations.

You can also have a small gamble for a festival gift or learn an old craft like pottery or paper-cutting.