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The Net-Boat Fair is also dubbed the "Liuwang Temple Fair" in Jiaxing in Zhejiang province. Spring witnesses China's sole on-water sacrificial ceremony, during which a series of activities are held including large-scale sacrifices, a boat-racing festival and folk culture performances. 

The annual fair is a traditional local folklore carnival paying homage to Liu Chengzhong, a venerable figure who led people in annihilating locusts in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).

The reign of the Xianfeng Emperor (1831-1861) in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) witnessed the rise of the fair in Jiaxing and the fair flourished at the end of Qing Dynasty. 

By the early 1980s, the popularity of folk sacrifice culture had re-emerged. More than 50,000 people participated in the fair in 1979 and the number soared to 100,000 in 1986.

Nowadays, fishermen and boat people from Jiangsu province, Zhejiang province and Shanghai are still getting together - with the line of their boats stretching from Liansidang in Jiaxing to the ancient Grand Canal.

The Net-Boat Fair was shortlisted in the third batch for the national intangible culture heritage list.

The 2015 China Jiangnan Net Boat Fair is held in Wangjiangjing town of Jiaxing city, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Xinhua]