The Opening Ceremony of 2019 Fengdu Temple Fair kicks off in Fengdu County, Chongqing

Friday 19 April 2019 11:40
The Opening Ceremony of 2019 Fengdu Temple Fair kicked off in Fengdu County, Chongqing, on the morning of April 7 and several magnificent performances allowed tourists to appreciate the traditional folk customs of Fengdu County.

Running promotes the national fitness trend

The "3rd National Fitness and Running centered on 'Healthy Fengdu County and Dynamic Temple Fair'"was also held and at the event, tens of thousands of runners of all ages and genders were seen in colorful clothing.

The parade of the Fair gained momentum

With a history of 30 years, the parade of Fengdu Temple Fair is one of the paramount activities of the event and it starts at 4 p.m. every day, but crowds always arrive early to find the best viewing spot. Under the sound of the archaistic music, the sacrificial ceremony began and the Emperor of the Underworld and his Empress launched this year's parade ceremony.

The atmosphere came to a climax with the gorgeous floats, the delicate traditional Chinese costumes, and the ghosts and immortals shuttling back and forth. The famous Guanajuato float for the Day of the Dead from Mexico integrated traditional Chinese culture with foreign elements, showing an international style. In addition, a creative makeup activity independently made the parade a carnival for the citizens.

Wuqiao Acrobatics is one of China's folk stunts

The 2019 Fengdu Temple Fair included a performance of Wuqiao Acrobatics, which is an intangible cultural heritage. As one of the earliest folk arts of China's intangible cultural heritage list, the Wuqiao Acrobatics has gone to perform on international stages many times and won lots of praise.

Many performances such as swallowing swords, holding vats, Chinese shadow puppetry, solo puppetry, and riding motorcycles in ballwon the warm applause of the audience. The performance of riding motorcycles in a ball integrated acrobatics with modern elements, and the audiences' screams rose and fell as four motorcycles raced in an iron ball. Acrobats of the performance of holding vats can not only hold the heavy vat with their feet, but also rotate the vat with a member of audience in it.

Fengdu Temple Fair is an intangible cultural heritage of China. For more information, please visit: https://www.ichongqing.info/arts-culture/adventure-to-the-underworld-in-fengdu/

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20190418/2440300-1

Caption - Emperor of the Underworld and his Empress