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Beijing Spring Festival
Better known as Chinese New Year as it is celebrated on the first day of the
first month according to the Chinese lunar calendar, this festival marks the
greatest annual celebration nationwide. Every business are closed during
the festival and the streets are jammed with parades and an array of jugglers as
well as other street performers. The spectacular fireworks show light up
the sky in the evening to keep up with the spirit of this long-lasting occasion.
Lantern Festival
This festival is celebrated with elaborately decorated lanterns which the
Chinese people believe will ward off the evil spirits floating about the Beijing
sky. Dancers and musicians also add to the fun.
Beijing Music Festival
The Beijing Music Festival has already become a significant date for Beijing's
music fans. Held in late fall, the festival is staged at various venues
throughout the capital. Each year more than 1,000 domestic and foreign musicians
take part in approximately 30 performances, ranging from individual vocalists
and instrumentalists to symphony orchestras.
Beijing International Kite Festival
Beside the renowned kite festival held in Wei Fang in Shandong province, Beijing
also has an International Kite Festival which is held in the western suburb of
Men Tou Gou. Varieties of kites from the last 100 years are displayed at the
event. Experts are on hand to explain artistic features, production
processes and kite-related anecdotes. Kite flying activities are also held in
spring in
Chao Yang Park.
Spring Flower and Plant Fair
The Spring Flower and Plant Fair has been held annually in the Workers' Culture
Palace for more than a decade. Flowers are brought together from the five
provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangsu and Henan, making this
Beijing's premier floral event. The park's vast courtyards are covered with tens
of thousands of pots of ornamental flowers and lush plants, complete with
miniature landscapes, root carvings and saplings.
Beijing Watermelon Festival
Recently, arrays of watermelons have been bombarding Beijing's streets every
Summer to celebrate this juicy fesival. In addition to the melon street,
food street, art street and commodity street, the festival also features various
ceremonies, movies and amusement parties. Melons are judged and rated,
tasted and traded. There is a fireworks show, a lantern fair and many
sports and games.
Longqing Gorge Lantern Festival
Longquing Gorge offers a fantastic natural beauty as well as grandeur. The
location is ideal for an ice-lantern festival as it has an annual ice period of
four months. Each year about 80 groups of ice lanterns, ice-and-snow
sculptures and ice slides are displayed under the colorful lighting along 300
meters of the gorge.
Buddha Worshipping Assembly
The Buddha Worshipping Assembly is the biggest annual event at the Lama Temple which is the largest of its kind outside Tibet, its original
home. Each spring there is a ceremony called "beating the
devil", which is inteded to expel the evil forces and invoke good
blessings. The occasion attracts large crowds of visitors and foreign tourists.
Flower Festival
Major parks in Beijing join hands to offer breathtaking floral displays every
Spring. Potted plant aficionados should not miss the Spring Flower and
Plant Fair near Tiananmen Square. There are various other floral sightings
at the Temple of Heaven, the Purple Bamboo Garden, as well as at the Temple of the
Altar.
Confucius' Birthday
Confucius (551-479 BC) is considered the father of Chinese philosophy and his
influence in this part of the world is unrivalled even today. In
Confucius' hometown of Qu Fu, the
Confucian Temple
in Beijing is the country's largest, and hosts celebrations each year on
September 28th.
Beijing International Beer Festival
This event takes place in mid-summer each year in various tourist hotels around
the capital. World-renowned breweries participate by offering a fantastic
assortment of quality beer to sample and even drink in competition. Visitors are
also welcome to attend a number of artistic performances.
Yan Jing Beer Festival
Yan Jing is China's most popular and a five-time awarded beer in terms of
production and sales volume. Every June the beer festival takes place in
Shun Yi district which is the location of Yan Jing's brewery. The event
includes mass dancing, folk gala shows, games stalls and, of course, beer
drinking contests.
Tomb Sweeping Day
This festival is known in Chinese by "Qing Ming", meaning "clear
and bright". This is the occasion when Chinese families clean and
repair their ancestors' graves and make offerings with flowers, food or
paper money.
Zhongshan Park Tulip Festival
Zhong Shan Park hosts an annual tulips exhibition every Spring. These
tulips are displayed in nine arrangements, bearing such titles as "Welcome
Guests," "European Scene," "Blooming Flowers,"
"Fantastic Woods," Spring on a Tiny Island," and "Dutch
Scenery." The whole park is submerged in a sea of flowers during the event, signifying the
blooming scene of spring.
Spring Festival Temple Fairs
These temple fairs date back to the Tang Dynasty and are usually held on
holidays in or around a temple. Nowadays, there are two major temple fairs
in Beijing, both held during the Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar new year).
One takes place in Di Tan Park and another in the Long Tan Lake Park. The
fairs feature folk performances, local opera, acrobatics, magic and
shadow-puppet shows.
This article is authored and copyrighted
by Royal Exclusive Travel
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