Archive for the ‘Chinese New Year’ Category

Longtan Lake Park Temple Fair in Beijing

Wednesday, January 18th, 2023
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Plan your Beijing winter tour? Going to a temple fair is still an important part of Spring Festival celebration in Beijing in winter. The temple fair inside Longtan Lake Park is one of my favorite ones.

Just outside the north gate of Longtan Lake Park

Longtan Lake Park is about 1km east of Temple of Heaven, 4 km southeast of Tiananmen Square in Chongwen, Dongcheng District. It is a large park with a big lake inside with beautiful views.

For more information on Longtan Lake Park, check out my another article Early Morning Stroll at Longtan Lake Park in Beijing.

The huge standing statue of Tuye (Grandpa Rabbit -兔爷 ), a mythical symbol of healing and protection for Beijing

As a temple fair in Beijing, Longtan Lake Park Temple Fair has many items – a myriad of special local food and snacks, plentiful products of arts and crafts, a number of interesting games. Of course, this year an ice and snow festival is being held during the Spring Festival.

A close look at the Chinese character – FU

Before the beautiful Longtan Lake Park becomes a bustling, chaotic temple fair packed with people and activities during the Spring Festival, this morning I went to the park for a look at the temple fair up front. A long string of makeshift stalls erected along main roads in the park, which are divided into major three parts – Souvenir stalls, food vendors and recreation places for the games.

The main roads along the lake inside the park, have been colorfully decorated with numerous lanterns.

If you are going to visit Longtan Lake Park Temple Fair and theLongtan Park Winter Carnival , please check out the following latest information:

 Longtan Lake Park Temple Fair (届龙潭庙会)

Period: Spring Festival
Opening Hours: 8:30am – 5:00pm
Entrance Fee: RMB 10 ( non-temple fair time: RMB 2 ) Children under 1.2 meter high: free
Bus lines: North Gate: 743、822、35、41、957、750、705 get off at Guangminglou Northwest Gate: 60、8、116、6、12、352、958 get of Beijing Amusement Park East Gate: 122、51、T3 Get off at Beijing Tumor Hospital

The connected food booths selling various kinds of local food

Add: No.8, Longtanhulu, Chongwen, Dongcheng District, about 1km east of Temple of Heaven

Complaint Tel: 67144310, 67185980

Selling pinwheels

Ice and Snow: Longtan Park Winter Carnival (龙潭(国际)冰雪文化嘉年华)

Period: Winter Season
Opening Hours: 9:30am – 9:00pm
Entrance Fee: RMB 50 Non-Spring Festival: RMB 20 (weekday), RMB 30 (weekend) Snow Tubing: RMB 100/hour (deposit RMB 300) Snow Sledge: RMB30/hour (deposite RMB 200)
Bus lines: North Gate: 743、822、35、41、957、750、705 get off at Guangminglou Northwest Gate: 60、8、116、6、12、352、958 get of Beijing Amusement Park East Gate: 122、51、T3 Get off at Beijing Tumor Hospital
Add: No.8, Longtanhulu, Chongwen, Dongcheng District, about 1km east of Temple of Heaven
Complaint Tel: 67144310, 67185980
Note: Since the ice and snow site is inside the park, you have to first buy the park entrance ticket.

Snow Tubing Trails
Snow sledge
A souvenir stall, selling snow spades

Add-on

Top 10 Ski Resorts in Beijing
Top 10 Ice Rinks in Beijing
Houhai Winter Ice Skating Rink
How to Visit Great Wall of China in Winter
Top 8 Things to Do in Beijing in the Winter
How to Visit Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival
What to see and do at the temple fairs in Beijing
Snow and Ice at Bird’s Nest (National Stadium)
How to Spend Spring Festival in Beijing
How to Spend Christmas Eve in Beijing
Longtan Lake Park Temple Fair

Tip:  Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours

If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours,  here are some options for guided tours to Beijing:

Beijing Winter Tour
Beijing 5 Day Winter Tour Package
Car Rental in Beijing
Beijing Day Tour
Beijing Tour Packages
Great Wall Tour
Beijing Winter Tour
Beijing Tours
China City Tours
China Tour

Further Readings


Best Time to Visit Beijing
How to plan a trip to Beijing

Top 10 Attractions in Beijing
Top 10 Tourist Scams Beijing
How to Visit Forbidden City
How to Visit Temple of Heaven
How to Visit Summer Palace
How to Visit Ming Tombs
How to Visit the Great Wall of China
How to Visit Tiananmen Square
How to Visit Hutongs
How to Visit Olympic Sites

Top 10 Markets in Beijing
Top 10 Shopping Malls in Beijing
Beijing Shopping

Wangfujing Night Snack Street
Qianmen Commercial Street
Beijing Huguosi Street

Any questions, just drop a line.

What to see and do at the temple fairs in Beijing

Tuesday, January 17th, 2023
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Plan your winter tour in Beijing? As a foreign visitor, if you are in Beijing during the Spring Festival (Chinese lunar new year), visiting a temple fair is definitely a good choice to experience the traditional Beijing custom and Chinese culture.

Like elsewhere in the world, temple fairs (Miao Hui) originated and developed as groups of vendors did business near temples when many pilgrims came to pay tribute to the gods during traditional festivals.

Now there are over 10 major temple fairs held each year in Beijing during Chinese new year. Most of them are in the parks, wide streets and other non-temple areas.

Though some commercialization is greatly reinventing the essence of the Beijing’s temple fairs, and old Beijing culture is becoming a smaller part of the fairs, going to a temple fair is still one of the opportunities to know something about our Spring Festival traditions, why we do, what we do, and how Chinese culture makes us Chinese.

If you want to know what to see and do in a temple fair in Beijing during Chinese new year, then please follow me to the Longtanhu Temple Fair. Each temple fair has its own unique features, but much of the content is similar: four parts – Eating, Buying, Playing and Family Outing.

Eating at a temple fair

Each temple fair in Beijing will put on “Eating Olympic Games”. Longtanhu Temple fair is no exception. In addition, it does the best among all the temple fairs in terms of offering numerous kinds of Beijing traditional snacks and food.

The connected food booths selling various kinds of local food as well from elsewhere in China.
Sugar Coated haws on a stick
Chatang – Miancha – Youcha
Steamed buns with fillings
Stuffed Sausage – Ingredient – wheat flour, cloves, nutmeg, garlic sauce, starch, tofu pulp
Fried Scentipede!!

Shopping at a temple fair

Most people go to a temple fair in Beijing to buy gifts or crafts for the new year celebrations. Many goods sold in the temple fair have typical northern features, such as toys like diabolo, pin wheel, knife, spear, sword and halberd…

Selling pinwheels
Selling plasticine

Entertaining and playing at a temple fair

Family members, especially the kids are excited to play various games offered in temple fairs and watch folk performances.

Catch a toy with a loop and get it
Put the ball into the rim and get a toy
Fish what you want
Acrobatics Show on the stage
More activities for kids
Entertainment area for kids

Family Outing

Going to a temple fair is also family outing, a pleasant break from the non-stop eating and family events that characterize much of the holiday.

I’m taller.
A family outing
A family outing 2
Double enjoyment

Add-on

Top 10 Ski Resorts in Beijing
Top 10 Ice Rinks in Beijing
Houhai Winter Ice Skating Rink
How to Visit Great Wall of China in Winter
Top 8 Things to Do in Beijing in the Winter
How to Visit Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Festival
What to see and do at the temple fairs in Beijing
Snow and Ice at Bird’s Nest (National Stadium)
How to Spend Spring Festival in Beijing
How to Spend Christmas Eve in Beijing
Longtan Lake Park Temple Fair

Tip:  Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours

If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours,  here are some options for guided tours to Beijing:

Beijing Winter Tour
Beijing 5 Day Winter Tour Package
Car Rental in Beijing
Beijing Day Tour
Beijing Tour Packages
Great Wall Tour
Beijing Tours
China City Tours
China Tour

Further Readings


Best Time to Visit Beijing
How to plan a trip to Beijing

Top 10 Attractions in Beijing
Top 10 Tourist Scams Beijing
How to Visit Forbidden City
How to Visit Temple of Heaven
How to Visit Summer Palace
How to Visit Ming Tombs
How to Visit the Great Wall of China
How to Visit Tiananmen Square
How to Visit Hutongs
How to Visit Olympic Sites

Top 10 Markets in Beijing
Top 10 Shopping Malls in Beijing
Beijing Shopping

Wangfujing Night Snack Street
Qianmen Commercial Street
Beijing Huguosi Street

Any questions, just drop a line.

Preparing Christmas and New Year Decorations in China

Saturday, December 21st, 2013

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby featherBoth Christmas and Chinese New Year are around the corner,  people are now preparing for festival home decorations.  The Christmas celebration is getting more popularity in China, especially among young people. Bring home a Christmas tree, coupled with numerous tree ornaments – Baby Jesus, Father Christmas or Santa, the star of Bethlehem, snow white, heart red,  gold and, silver and any other metallic colour.  The main winter icons also include snowflakes, snowmen, icicles and more.

2014 is a horse year for Chinese. Horse toys  are in great demand for home decorations.  The dominating color is red and you have red lanterns, red papercut posters, red good luck hanging, red Chinese knots, red New Year Greeting Couplets, red Chinese Kitchen God, Chinese firecrackers decor and etc.

I’m impressed by the quality and quantity of the festival decoratiions sold by the vendors along the Yide Road in the city of Guangzhou. If you are going to Guangzhou tour, don’t miss to stroll along Yide Road (一德路).  You will be definitely surprised at the rich collections of these traditional Chinese new year decorations.

Just follow me to have a glimpse of the great variety of decorations on Yide Road.

Buried in the red sea of Chinese new year decorations

Buried in the red sea of Chinese new year decorations

Buried in the red sea of Chinese new year decorations

Take a Santa Claus home

Take a Santa Claus home

Take a Santa Claus home

Choosing a Chinese knot for good luck

Choosing a Chinese knot for good luck

Choosing a Chinese knot for good luck

One store for all Christmas decorations

One store for all Christmas decorations

One store for all Christmas decorations

 

Paper cuts posters

Paper cuts posters

Firecrackers hangings and new year couplets

Firecrackers hangings and new year couplets

Firecrackers hangings and new year couplets

Red hearts,red stars and icicles

Red hearts,red stars and icicles

Red hearts,red stars and icicles

 

 

Christmas meets Chinese new year

Christmas meets Chinese new year

Any questions, just drop a line.