Dongyue Temple Fair. [Photo/1545ts.com]

The annual folk festival - Dongyue Temple Fair of Mount Tai will open on April 29 at Dai Temple in Tai'an, Shandong province.

The fair will last until May 6, covering the May Day holiday, making it more convenient for locals and visitors to attend.

It will highlight 25 activities featuring culture, folk custom, performance and trade. New projects will be added to allow visitors to have an interactive experience.

Tai'an locals can watch the performances in Dai Temple at half price.

Temple fair is an indispensable part of traditional Chinese culture. Dongyue Temple Fair can be traced to late Tang Dynasty (618-907) and reached its heyday during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

It developed from a worship ceremony for the God of Mount Tai into a folk activity covering the aspects of food, accommodation, transportation, tourism, entertainment, shopping and religious culture.

The event was included into the second batch of national intangible cultural heritages released by the State Council in June, 2008.

The opening ceremony for the temple fair will be held in front of Tiankuang Hall at 9 o'clock on April 30, where visitors can enjoy performances.

Cultural activities

If the visitors want to enjoy the cultural atmosphere at the temple fair, they can get a close look at bamboo engraving art at Peitian Gate where more than 70 pieces of engraving art are exhibited from April 28 to May 22.

A folk artist engraves a New Year woodcut picture at the traditional handicraft show during the 2017 Dongyue Temple Fair. [Photo/Wechat account: sdtxta]

An exhibition of modern calligraphy and paintings will also be held from April 30 to May 6. A great number of works created by renowned artists will be exhibited to interpret Mount Tai culture and spirit. Famous painters will also be invited to create works on the spot to meet visitors' specific needs.

During the same period, calligraphist and painter Wu Zehao will be at the signing at Hanbai Yard to sell the commemorative envelope Blessing.

Visitors are also encouraged to take photos of the temple fair and share them on WeChat. The popular ones will be selected after the fair.

Folk custom activities

Visitors to the temple fair can also enjoy themselves by admiring folk-custom activities held from April 29 to May 6.

There will be exhibitions of traditional handicrafts and paper-cut works that were collected and selected by non-governmental organizations.

Performers will also demonstrate traditional Chinese costumes at a garden party.

Archery performances will be put on at Tanghuai Yard where visitors can learn about traditional Chinese etiquette culture.

Highly skilled tai chi practitioners stage a grand show of tai chi during the Dongyue Temple Fair. [Photo/Wechat account:hitaishan]

A Han Chinese Costume Festival will be held from April 30 to May 2. A series of activities, such as traditional dance, poetry competition and puberty ceremony, will be held to showcase traditional etiquette and Han Chinese costume culture.

To promote the traditional athletic spirit, a hand wrestling competition will be held on April 30 in front of Tiankuang Hall, where 200 competitors will fight for the championship.

On the same day, sports lovers will attend a cycling activity that departing from the north gate of Dai Temple. On May 3, a Yoga Cultural Activities will also be held at Tanghuai Yard.

Performances

A parade of offering sacrifice to the heaven will be held on April 30 to demonstrate the unique Mount Tai culture and spirit.

From April 29 to May 6, performances of martial arts, traditional music, Chinese folk art forms and local operas will be put on stage. Visitors can lift their spirits by watching long boxing and nunchakus performances or listening to the music played by guqin, a seven-stringed zither, and the bamboo flute.

An imperial parade is reenacted in Dai Temple during the Dongyue Temple Fair. [Photo/Wechat account: sdtxta]

The visitors can also try to find inner peace by watching the tea ceremony performances at Hapai Pavillion from April 29 to May 1, or by enjoying modern fashion and attending the music festival at Tanghuai Yard on May 5 and 6.

Trade activities

If people want to buy Mount Tai specialties, they won't be disappointed, for trade shows will be held during the temple fair. Tea, tourism products, donkey-hide gelatin, rare stones bonsai and root carvings will be demonstrated and on sale.

Traders demonstrate how to stir-fry tea leaves at the tea exposition during the Dongyue Temple Fair. [Photo/Wechat account: sdtxta]