Temple Fairs aka Miao Hui in Beijing

Today's post will be on temple fairs. If you happen to be in Beijing during Chinese New Year, head to any one of the 12 temple fairs in the capital. The fairs date back to more than thousand years ago and were held to celebrate important festivals such as Chinese New Year. Contrary to the name, they are hardly held in temples anymore. Rub shoulders with Locals and Foreigners AND WATCH YOUR BELONGINGS as the place is packed to the brim. The fair is like a carnival, with game & food stalls, performances, exhibitions and even gimmicks such as a sedan chair ride! I love the fair as it allows you to catch a glimpse of the past in the present. I hope that the experience of tradition and culture, will be always preserved at such an affordable rate!


Temple fair at Ditan(Temple of Earth), catch sight of the re-enactment of Emperor's prayer rites at that site(Information Source Straits Times)After visiting Ditan, I caught sight of prayer rites for good harvest at the Temple of Heaven instead! By that time, 3/4 of the day was gone and I was temple fair fatigue!





Stalls caught on Camera:






I spotted this and I felt that it was worth mentioning! When I looked at it, the term perseverance came to mind! It was awesome seeing children only 1/3 of my height, attempting to scale the 'mountain' to reach the summit in order to retrieve a toy!


A preservation of tradition - Travel like royalty even if it is just for 2 mins


Here are the pictures from the re-enactment at the Temple of Heaven. It showed how the Emperor used to worship the Heaven to ensure that there will be good harvest for the coming year. I couldn't help overhearing on-lookers comments about the 'Emperor'. They said he looked ugly! I googled the youth pictures of Emperor Qian Long and Emperor Kang Xi and my personal opinion is that they were NOT drop dead gorgeous! If a handsome actor was used, wouldn't that have compromised the accurate reflection of the ceremony? Anyway Beauty is in the eye's of the beholder and to me he looks alright!







Do catch the Honour Guard Performance and Ritual Music and Dancing Performance too.
Schedule: 09:30-10:05, 13:30-14:05 (Honor Guard Performance); 10:45-11:15, 14:45-15:15 (ritual music and dancing show)
*This is the 2011 schedule and should only be used as reference for 2012 onwards


Here's a random fact: It is believe that 2011, will be a bad year for those born in the Year of the Rabbit. People who are in this group were advised to wear red underwear & carry around a lucky charm to ward away the "bad luck"! I have no idea whether this is just Chinese superstition, as apparently couples prefer to have a Rabbit baby than a Tiger child. Since we are still in the 15 days of CNY, I would like to wish all 新年快乐(Happy New Year)，万事如意(May you always be prosperous)，心想事成(May all your wishes and dreams come true)!

Getting There:
Temple of Heaven

By Subway:
Take Subway Line 5: get off at Tiantan Dongmen Station, Leave from Exit A and you'll find the East Gate of the Park of Temple of Heaven.
Take bus 6, 34, 35, 36, 39, 41, 43, 60, 116, 610, 707, 723, 743, 957, or 958 and get off at Tiantan Dongmen (East Gate) Station.
Take bus 36 (环), 53, 120, 122, 525, 610, 800 (内), 803 or 958 and get off at Tiantan Nanmen (South Gate) Station.

By Bus:
Take bus 2, 7, 15, 17, 20, 69, 105, 707, 729, or 826 and get off at Tiantan Ximen (West Gate) Station.
Take bus 6, 34, 35, 36 (环), 106, 110, 687, 707, or 743 and get off at Tiantan Beimen (North Gate) Station.

Temple of Earth

By Subway:
Take Subway Line 2 or Subway Line 5 to Yonghegong Station, get out of the station from Exit A (northwest exit). You will see the entrance to the park

By Bus:
Take Bus No. 18, 75, 104, 108, 113, 119, 201, 328, 407, 426, 430, 558, 特2 to Ditan Ximen (West Gate of Ditan Park) Stop;
Take Bus No. 117, 125 to Ditan Dongmen (East Gate of Ditan Park) Stop