Fairs are the most special as they are filled with fun and local flavor. Various activities are very interesting—including riding donkeys around the fair and traditional games. Local foods are also available. There are also performances—includ
ing the Peking opera, ballad singing, storytelling, comic dialogues, clapper talks, flower displays, folk sideshows, dancing and martial arts shows.
Various items—including incense, candles, paper-cuts and spring couplets are sold at bazaars. Folk crafts-such as mud figurines, pinwheels and diabolos—are also sold.
The fairs' dates are always scheduled; on the fiat day of the lunar New Year, fairs are held at Dazhong Temple and Dongyue Temple; on the second day, there is a fair at the God of Wealth Temple; on the third day, at the Hall of Immortal Peach; on 17th and 18th days, at White Cloud Temple. Nowadays, in Beijing, religious meanings behind the fairs have diminished and occasional religious erformances have continued for entertainment. The fairs are no longer held only at temples—parks, stadiums and shopping malls also hold fairs. That explains the saying, "Fairs at no temples." People just enjoy themselves at the fairs.
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