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2012 Longtan Temple Fair

Friday, January 27th, 2012

Longtan Temple Fair has been my favorite. The reason for my affection is many-fold, including its short distance to my residential area, it spacious area since the temple fair is located in Longtan Lake Park and its richness in offering various festival activities.

Longtan Temple Fair has entered its 29th year since it was first held in 1983. From last year, it added Ice and Snow activities for the temple fair, which had its official name “The First Longtan Park Winter Carnival” . Part of the Longtan Lake was turned into an ice and snow playground just behind the north gate of Longtan Lake Park. This year the Second Longtan Park Winter Carnival is held together with Longtan Temple Fair.

The 2012 (29th ) Longtan Temple Fair has little change in comparison with the temple fair held in 2011. Its main activities include new year product shopping, games playing, eating local snacks and amusement for kids.

For many temple fair goers, each year any temple fair comes to them without little surprises and or freshness. So why come to a temple fair again year on year? It is the atmosphere, it is the huge hordes of people that attract people to come to a temple fair. Here, you feel the new year, here you touch the new year, here you expect some hope for future.

Now we buy online, we eat online, we talk online, we write each other online, we do business online and the list can be much longer. But we are human beings and we need real world network, not just virtual interaction. Under the background of internet era, we need something like a temple fair to remind us that we are human beings.

Follow me to the 29th Longtan Temple Fair to celebrate the new year 2012.

Follow the happy kid to the temple fair

The huge Chinese character “福” sign wishing everybody happy and healthy in the new year.

The huge Chinese character 福 sign wishing everybody happy and healthy

So many people and you have to move with the people flow

Kids like to enjoy a pirate ship

Balloon Dart game

balloon Dart game

Intoxicated

Have a cup of tea from a huge copper tea pot

Xinjiang Uyghur Kebabs

Do you dare to try? Fired Scorpions!

Fired Scorpions!

Have a bit

Sugar coasted haws and res lanterns

A foreigner with a dragon hat is lost in the sea of people

A foreigner with a dragon hat drops is lost in the sea of people

The Ice and Snow in Longtan Temple Fair

Tags: 29th Longtan Park Temple Fair, 29th Longtan Temple Fair, Longtan Park Temple Fair, Longtan Temple Fair
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Panjiayuan Temple Fair

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

If you are an antique lover traveling Beijing during spring festival, then you should not miss Panjiayuan Temple Fair. Panjiayuan Temple Fair has its own official name called “Panjiayuan Spring Festival Fair”. This year 2012 is the 4th Panjiayuan Spring Festival Fair.

Panjiayuan Temple Fair is located in the west part of Panjianyuan Market ( Panjiayuan Flea, Antique or Dirt Market). Panjiayuan Market‘s east part is still open to vendors and shoppers.

Open hours for Panjiayuan Temple Fair

9:00am – 5:00pm

Jan 21 – 29, 2012

Open hours for Panjiayuan Market

Monday – Friday 08:30am – 6:00pm

Saterday – Sunday 4:30am – 6:00pm

The 4th Panjiayuan Spring Festival Fair

This year’s Panjiayuan Temple Fair is mainly composed of one performance stage, snacks stalls, antiques and handicrafts booths and amusement for kids. What makes this year fair special is that there is an Amber Exhibittion sponsored by Polish government during the fair.

The center of the fair is the stage on which trandtional Beijing cultural performances are on show. People are gathering around the stage enjoying the performance and feeling the festival of the new year.

People are gathering around the stage enjoying the performance

For many temple fair goers, tasting the local snacks is one of their highlights. One row of over a dozen of food stalls are orderly arranged in the special zone in the fair. Beef pies, Lamb kebabs, Stuffed Sausage, Steamed buns with fillings, Sugar Coated haws on a stick…

A beauty kebabs vendor

Making of beef pies

Kids will not be disappointed since there several amusement facilities in the fair.

Panjiayuan Temple Fair still keeps its characteristics of being a platform of trading for antiques and handicrafts. In the fair there are four rows of makeshift stalls selling various staffs – amber, jade, pearls, coral, turquoise

four rows of makeshift stalls

Panjiayuan Temple Fair still keeps its characteristics of being a platform of trading antiques and handicrafts.

Panjiayuan Flea Market

Of course, if you really want to hunt for the bargains you like, you should go to the east part of the market where hundreds of vendors are waiting for you, selling Jewelry such as amber, jade, pearls, coral, turquoise; Cultural Revolution-era items; Buddhist statuary; Porcelain & ceramics and Chinese paintings and calligraphy objects.

amber, jade, pearls, coral, turquoise

Buddhist statuary

calligraphy objects.

Chinese paintings

New Year Wishes

Panjiayuan Market is festively decorated

amber, jade, pearls, coral, turquoise

Precious Stones

Tags: 2012 Panjiayuan Spring Festival Fair, Panjiayuan 4th Spring Festival Fair, Panjiayuan Spring Festival Fair, Panjiayuan Temple Fair 2012
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2012 Beijing Chaoyang International Spring Carnival

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

Plan your Beijing trip during spring festival? Visiting a temple fair is a must. For each spring festival, I’d like to visit one temple fair to feel and touch the new year. My pick this year is to vist the temple fair inside Chaoyang Park since I’ve heard a lot about this special temple fair which claims its difference from a traditional one. It is supposed to be an Ocean People ( 洋人 foreigners ) temple fair.

Situated in the northeast of Beijing, Chaoyang Park is the largest city park in Asia. The park has four gates with its main gate in the south. So I take a taxi to the south gate of Chaoyang Park. I’m happy with my decision to take a taxi instead of driving my own car seeing the gate packed with hordes of visitors.

The gate decoration and the huge signboad by the gate tell me that this temple fair in Chaoyang Park has its trendy and exotic name “Beijing Chaoyang International Spring Carnival”. The “Carnival” of this kind started in the year 2002, so this year is the 10th Beijing Chaoyang International Spring Carnival. So it is a carnival, not a temple fair?

The carnival is valid Jan 23-28, 2012, from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Entrance fee: RMB 10. The entrance ticket sample.

Entrance ticket

The Southern Gate of Chaoyang Park festively decorated.

The Southern Gate of Chaoyang Park festively decorated

A huge Chinese character “Spring” in front of the gate, a photographic spot.

A huge Chinese character - Spring - in front of the gate

I spend 2 hours wandering around the park to discover the difference between Chaoyang Temple Fair (or officially named “carnival”). Beijing Chaoyang International Spring Carnival is composed of five theme parts – Foreign Performances, Foreign Stalls, Amusement, Games, and Traditional Snacks. So what differentiate from a traditional temple fair is that Chaoyang Carnival has Foreign Performances, Foreign Stalls, which turn out to be a litte bit disappointed.

Foreign Performances

Foreign singers and music bands are invited to perform during the temple fair in Chaoyang Park on two stages – Lihua Stage and Grass Stage, plus Street Art. The huge signboard by the gate shows the whole day scheduel for the performances.

The foreign singer is putting on a performance.

The foreign singer is putting on a performace.

On another stage, actors from Russia present an interesting performance.

actors from Russia present an interesting performance.

Foreign Stalls

Actually there are very few foreign stalls. I see two, one from Bulgaria, the other from Greece. The stall from Bulgaria is organized by Embassy of Bulgaria, promoting its local red wines.

Red Wine from Bulgaria

Amusement

Kids will definitely like the carnival since Chaoyang Park has a special zone allocated for amusement and recreation. The recreation zone has a wide variety of amusement facilities as well as a small lake for skating or playing on ice.

Having a panoramic view of Beijing city by taking a parachute.

Kids excited with Worm Tackle

Rickety chair-skating

Play Games

Temple fair have become part of daily life during spring festival. In each temple fair, various games are not to be missed. In Chaoyang Park this year, a bunch of games are there for visitors to choose.

Hook a neck of a beer glass and you get a gift

Pick a gold ingot

Pick Gold Ingot

Shoot a basketball

Shoot a bow

shoot a bow

Traditional Beijing snacks

The magnet of a temple fair is the various kinds of Beijing local snacks available for people to enjoy. Rows of food stalls are scattered neatly in the park.

Mass eating in front of various traditional snack stalls