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Summary As a major celebration during the lunar New Year, Beijing temple fairs draw large crowds of visitors every year. In 2011, Beijing artists have transported a temple fair to Taichung City in Taiwan to give residents there a taste of the real Beijing-flavor New Year.
Holding temple fairs during the lunar New Year holiday is a custom observed on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Taiwans celebrations also include religious rituals such as venerating Matsu, a Goddess believed to bless the fishing men. The original Beijing temple fair in Taiwan was the first of its kind held on the island. Local residents are enthusiastic for the novel event. Sundays preview alone attracted about 8,000 people, organizers said. At the temple fair, local residents strolled along streets lined with time-honored Beijing delicacies such as sweet pea pudding, glutinous rice rolls with sweet bean flour, fermented bean drink, among others. Traditional Chinese art performances also highlighted the fair. The performances included Peking opera, Yangge Dance on stilts which is a kind of popular rural folk dance in North China, and two-man comic show with one acting in pantomime and another hiding behind him doing all the speaking and finger movements. A folk artwork show was also held at the temple fair, where folk artists from Beijing displayed their craftsmanship. The artists made kites, dough models, inside-bottle paintings and other handicrafts common at a Beijing temple fair. The temple fair is a sound platform for the mainland and Taiwan to exchange folk culture which is believed conducive to the promotion of Chinese culture and could be held regularly across the Strait.
