Temple Fair (Miaofeng Mountain Temple Fair)

Mentougou District, Beijing
🎧  Listen to Introduction

Temple fairs, also known as "temple markets", are a kind of folk belief activities held regularly in temples and their vicinity, popular throughout the country. Some large-scale temple fairs were already of considerable scale in the Tang Dynasty, and are still being passed down and have a wide influence. Various temple fairs have their own stipulated dates, most of which are traditional lunar festivals or religious and folk belief anniversaries. Temple fairs are characterized by centralization, group nature, and fixedness. During temple fairs, various folk activities and technical trade activities can be fully displayed in public, and the activities are rich and colorful. Welcoming gods and competitions are also a form of temple fairs. In the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions of my country, as well as Taiwan, the traditional temple fairs that are popular among believers are all introduced from the mainland and have an inseparable connection with the mother body. In overseas Chinese residential areas, many temple fairs brought from the motherland are very popular, and they inherit the cultural bloodline of the Chinese nation in a special way. Miaofeng Mountain, formerly known as "Miao Gaofeng", is located in the western suburbs of Beijing, 35 kilometers away from the city center, and is under the jurisdiction of Mentougou District, Beijing. Miaofeng Mountain traditional temple fair is held twice a year, from the first to the fifteenth day of the fourth lunar month is the spring incense, and from the twenty-fifth day of the seventh lunar month to the first day of the eighth lunar month is the autumn incense, of which the spring incense is the most popular. The temple fair activity area is divided into two parts: the Niangniang Temple and the Xiangdao Teahouse. The Niangniang Temple is built on the top of the mountain and consists of buildings such as the Lingguan Hall, Huiji Temple, Huixiang Pavilion, and Yuhuangding. Miaofeng Mountain Temple Fair is one of the most important temple fairs in North China. It began in the middle and late Ming Dynasty and reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty, welcoming hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every year. There are more than 300 incense fairs, each with different sects. The head of the association is the organizer, conductor and main inheritor of the incense fair. There are more than 200 heads of association in Beijing alone. All the rules, etiquette and skills in the association are passed down by the heads of association in the form of master and apprentice. Miaofeng Mountain Temple Fair retains the traditional folk auspicious culture of North China temple fairs characterized by folk beliefs. It is an important basis for studying the worldview and living conditions of the people in North China, and has important reference value in folklore research. The incense association is a folk cultural activity organization that inherits and preserves many folk arts, folk sports and folk handicrafts, enriching the cultural life of the masses. The activities of the incense association are highly popular and entertaining, reflecting the people's self-governance ability and the spirit of public-spiritedness, modesty and mutual assistance in traditional society.

Intangible culture related to the heritage

China tourist attractions related to the heritage