Beijing Ditan Temple Fair (Chinese New Year)|北京地坛春节文化庙会
Ditan Park Entrance. The south gate of Ditan park in Beijing is
decorated and flanked by guards for the Chinese new year temple fair.
The Central Road. The temple fairs in China have no capacity limits
or ordnance, so the centers can end up being wall-to-wall people,
without any particular rules about right-of-way.
Child with Drums. Large drums are positioned at the front of the gates,
for visitors to bang on for good fortune and to drive away evil spirits.
It’s especially popular to lift children up to have a go.
Gate Drums.Figures of Fortune. A woman sits flanked by two figures covered in
symbols of fortune, including the color red, images of imperial Chinese
coins, and large golden taels, the shape that precious metals were traded
in Qing dynasty China.
Xiangsheng 相声 (Cross-talk) Performers. Two young men perform
xiangsheng, a form of two person stand-up comedy. This particular example
involved tricking one member to repeatedly slap himself in the face,
generating waves of laughter in a crowd filled with children.
Carnival Workers. Working on Chinese New Year is no treat for
Chinese workers, but taxi drivers, carnival workers, and public service
workers have to be on the job.
Street Vendor Selling Starch Chips.Made from various types of starch,
Marjolijn has worked at Berkshire Publishing as China Projects Editor since 2011 after completing an MA degree in modern Chinese literature. She loves cooking, baking, and above all chocolate. When it comes to Chinese cuisines, she does not feel limited by being a vegetarian at all, and whenever/wherever possible professes her love of jianbing.