Guangzhou Major Events & Festivals  Much of the festivals in Guangzhou, China are born out of
either the beliefs of the people or due to the age old folk
customs. These customs have been passed from one generation
to other and are celebrated on large scale over a couple of
days. However with the changing times, new customs have been
added which have given the Festivals and Events in Guangzhou
a new look.
The various festivals and events that occupy a major portion
of the calendar fulfill some social needs and duties other
than with the aim of providing entertainment. It's the perfect
time for all to get together and take a break from their busy
schedule. These are the time of celebrations which are cherished
by all. The festivals and events help in bringing the religious,
geographical and social groups together and bind them in a
single entity. Since much of the Festivals and Events in Guangzhou
focus on ancient customs, their celebrations are intended to
teach the younger generation their value.
The times of celebration are marked with enormous preparations.
Everyone seems to be happy and is keen to take part in the
minutest of preparations. The festivals held in Guangzhou
are either seasonal or annual. They vary in their respective
cause as some have a cultural significance while the importance
of some is purely religious.
The festive time really keeps the people busy with a lot of
house hold chores. New clothes are purchased, gifts are exchanged,
houses are given a fresh coat of painting and temples are visited
in large numbers by devotees to seek the blessings of their
worshipped deity for a prosperous life. Apart from the rituals
that are followed, most of the festivals are accompanied by
songs and dance. The festivals and events usually come along
with elaborate fairs. The Festivals and Events of Guangzhou
are colorful and are an integral part of the cultural life
of the people of the city.
Chinese New Year in Guangzhou is celebrated among much joy
and is very close to everyone's heart. This nationwide festival
is celebrated in the first day of the lunar calendar and usually
lasts for a couple of days marked by a number of fun events,
entertainment and family and friends gatherings. The festival
is also known as the Spring Festival.
Other events of the festival comprise of traditional and customary
Chinese dances like lion dancing. The age old Yangge Dancing
is also performed as a part of the religious side of the festival
and is meant to ward off evil spirits. As a way to prepare
for the festival, houses are cleaned and purified. The common
people also get new clothes for themselves and decorate their
houses with red lanterns.
The Chinese New Year is welcomed and the old bid adieu with
a bursting of fire crackers. The crackers light up the night
sky and are a spectacular sight to watch. The following days
of festivity are full of visits to relatives, exchanging gifts
and doing a lot of partying. The younger ones seek the blessings
of the elders for a prosperous life.
The Guangzhou Trade Fair, or the Canton Fair as it is often
called, is the most popular event which is held twice annually.
The Trade Fair in Guangzhou has been organized since the 1950s
and it is the main foreign trade institution in China.
Since its conception, the Fair has undergone varieties of changes in terms of
its dimension, space for exhibition, products for export, tourist attractions
and business profit. There are many small traders displaying their products
in this fair so that they can break their route to the international market.
Special Exhibitions are also held to display hi-tech electronic products. There
are also a large number of foreign traders, the provinces and municipalities
organizing Trading Delegations visit this fair to hook on opportunities of trade.
 
| Winter Solstice in Guangzhou |
The Winter Solstice in Guangzhou is celebrated with great
tempo, enthusiasm, and spirit. The Winter Solstice or Dong
Zhi is generally celebrated on the 21st, 22nd or 23rd of the
twelfth month in Chinese lunar calendar. In fact, most of
the people in Guangzhou, celebrate this day as an occasion
for family reunion.
It is believed that with the Winter Solstice, the period of
chilling cold continuing for 81 days, come to an end. Traditionally,
a family will feast themselves with lavish dishes during this
time. On the Winter Solstice, you must enjoy hot soup with
flour dumplings - the most important item of the celebration.
The excitement of the Chinese on this day will necessarily
remind you of the Chinese proverb meaning 'Winter solstice
is more important than new year's day'.
In Guangzhou, you will find locals going to supermarkets, restaurants
and department stores for marketing just before the festival.
You will find plenty of people gulping down mutton, chicken,
dumplings and glutinous rice balls during this festival. You
will also notice that the Hotpot restaurants in the city are
too crowded during this time.
The Qi Qiao Festival, also called the Double Seventh Festival,
is cerebrated on the 7th day of the 7th month of the Chinese
lunar calendar. This Chinese Valentine's Day is a festival
of romance. Qi Qiao is considered a big event in Guangdong.
There have been special cerebrations for the festival ever
since the Ming and Qing Dynasties (from about 1368 to 1840)
in Guangzhou's Zhu village. However, all the celebrations
ceased as a result of war, among other reasons, but were revived
by senior villagers in the village in 1998.
The Qi Qiao event will last for a total of six days with many
traditional ceremonies performed in the Zhu village. Traditional
ceremonies for the Qi Qiao Festival as follows:
Bai Qi Liang
On the night before the festival (6th day of the 7th month
of the lunar calendar), females will place an old Chinese square
table in front of the house or in the middle of the living
room, burn incense, and put self-made handicrafts on the table.
There are also some flowers, fruits and cosmetics displayed
for visitors. This is called Bai Qi Liang, which means putting
out your best stuff to welcome the Qi Qiao Festival.
Bai Xian
Bai Xian means worshipping the immortals. On the nights of
6th and 7th days of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, females
in Zhu village dress beautifully, burn incense and worship
the immortals seven times to pray for a happy life.
Qi Qiao
After worship, women will come up to the Xiu building holding
cotton and needles. They thread a needle in the moonlight to foretell
their future; this is called Qi Qiao. If the woman can thread
7 needles at a time, she wins the Qiao, if not, she loses the
Qiao.
Time: 6th day ¨C 11th day of 7th month of the lunar calendar
Venue:Guangzhou Zhu Village Qi Xi Plaza
Transportation:Buses No. 210, 23, 242, 507, 50, 560, 561, 568,
571A, 883, 576, 41
In traditional Chinese belief, death does not mean a person
stops existing. Rather, it means that he or she goes to live
in another world. Paying respects to the ancestors' tombs
is considered a rare, solemn occasion when people of two worlds
can meet and communicate.
Therefore, a series of practices have been devised since ancient times for the
grave visitors. As the first step for honouring the dead, the visitors will
do some clean-ups, uprooting the weeds, clearing up the dry leaves from nearby
trees on the tombs of their ancestors, wiping the tombstones, and decorating
the tombstone with fresh flowers. And then, they will add some soil to the tombs,
and plant some new trees beside the gravesites.
The major step is for the visitors to put offerings on the ground before the
gravestone. The offerings vary in different areas in China. They often included
fruits, paper money, cakes, liquor or wines.
For example, in the southern provinces of Guangdong and Fujian, a baked pig head
or even an entire piglet are must-have offerings unlike in northern provinces.
Then cups of wine or liquor would be offered as people, particularly the younger
ones, kneel down and kowtow or bow, a gesture to show respect and remembrance
to the deceased person. However, the occasion is not just for mourning the dead.
The Qingming Festival is celebrated two weeks after the Vernal Equinox, and the
dates usually turn out to be April 4, 5, or 6. Thus, people also go out to celebrate
the coming of the new season, the advent of warmer weather, the start of spring
plowing as well as of family outings.
| Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao Festival) |
The Spring Festival is closely followed by the Yuanxiao Festival
(Lantern Festival) also known as Chinese Valentine's Day.
The Yuanxiao Festival is on the 15th day of the first month
of the lunar calendar and the day is always accompanied by
coloured lights, riddles, lanterns and Tang Yuan (glutinous
rice dumpling).
In Chinese, Tang Yuan (glutinous rice dumpling) is pronounced similarly to Tuan
Yuan, which means "reunion and happiness". Therefore, Tang Yuan has taken on
a more 'romantic' reputation. On this festival, many people at Tang Yuan. This
humble sticky round rice ball typically has a variety of accompaniments such
as coconut juice and black sticky rice, pawpaw and milk, green tea essence, or
tremella and pawpaw, with fried shrimps and meat.
Guangzhou also has a mysterious long-standing temple fair
called the Polo Temple Fair. It is said that the lunar calendar
from February 11 to 13 of every year is the birthday of the
Sea God (Polo Birth). During the Polo Birth every family of
the near 15 townships all makes glutinous rice dumplings to
celebrate the Polo Temple Fair as well as parade to various
townships to communicate with each other, and worship in the
temple. Various places will build "the tribute awning",
where there exhibits three domestic animals, seafood, pastry,
candy, food and drink so as to offer a sacrifice to the Bodhisattva.
The villagers near the temple also have the custom of making Polo Chicken on
the Polo Birth. Because the discovery of the Xida Sikong (a famous god's) corpse
was based on the guidance of the "god chicken", the people then use
paper and clay to make the shape of cock and worship it in the temple. Whenever
there is a Polo Birth festival, the villagers then seize the opportunity to make
more "good chicken" to sell along the road; hence, this kind of clay
sculpture chicken is called "the Polo Chicken". The fable once said
that some people who bought the Polo Chicken would get rich, so then the people
would chase down in a swarm to buy the Polo Chicken in order to gain a bigger
fortune.
The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated on the fifteenth
day of the eighth lunar month, around the time of the autumn
equinox. This day is also considered as the harvest festival
since fruits, vegetables and grain will have been harvested
by this time and food will be abundant. With delinquent accounts
settled prior to the festival, it was a time for relaxation
and celebration.
Food offerings are given generally placed in the courtyard.
Apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates, melon, oranges
and pommels may also be given. Other special foods for the
festival include moon cakes, cooked taro, edible snails from
the taro patches or rice paddies cooked with sweet basils,
and water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns.
During this festival, huge lantern will be displayed in Wenhua
Park (Culture Park) in Guangzhou, attracting many local citizens
and foreign visitors. Thousands of differently shaped lanterns
are lit, forming a fantastic contrast with the bright moonlight.
Because the full moon is round and symbolizes reunion, the
Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the festival of reunion.
All family members try to get together on this special day.
Today, festivities centered about the Mid-Autumn Festival are
more varied. After a family reunion dinner, many people like
to go out to attend special performances in parks or on public
squares.
The Chongyang Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth
month of the Chinese lunar calendar, also known as the Double
Ninth Festival.
Chongyang has been an important festival since ancient times.
The festival is based on the theory of Yin and Yang, the two opposing principles
in nature. Yin is feminine, negative principle, while Yang is masculine and
positive. The ancients believed that all natural phenomena could be explained
by this theory, including "Numbers". For example, even numbers belong to Yin
and odd numbers to Yang. The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is a day when
the two Yang numbers meet. That's why it is called Chongyang. Chong means
double in Chinese.
The festival is held in the golden season of autumn, at harvest time. The bright
clear weather and the joy of getting harvest make for a festive happy atmosphere.
The Double Ninth Festival is usually perfect for outdoor activities. Many people
go hiking and climbing in the country, enjoying Mother Nature's final burst of
color before she puts on her dull winter cloak. Some will carry a branch of
dogwood.
| Dragon Boat Racing (Duanwu Festival) |
When the Duanwu Festival (Dragon Boat Festival) approaches,
Guangzhou citizens begin to visit their relatives and friends
by dragon boats.
|
