Shenzhen News Network, April 17, 2024 (Reporter Liu Jiamin) "The scene is really shocking! It also reminds me of the scene of dining with my family, which feels very cordial and warm." At the Poon Choi Banquet at the March Three Temple Fair of Beidi in Xixiang, the grand scene of 10,000 people eating on the same stage made Omar, a student from Ecuador in South America, sigh that in a "new" city like Shenzhen, he experienced the most "vulgar" traditional culture.
This festival, which makes international friends sigh, is the 2024 Bao'an Xixiang Beidi March 3rd Temple Fair, which is the unprecedented prosperity of hundreds of activities, thousands of tables, and 10,000 empty alleys in Shenzhen. A series of traditional folk activities have appeared one after another, which not only drove the growth of consumption in the jurisdiction, but also allowed the whole country and the world to see the cultural heritage of Shenzhen, and successfully opened a new chapter in the economic growth driven by traditional culture.
On April 15th, the nine-day March Three Temple Fair main venue activities came to an end in a lively voice. In the meantime, there are Hong Kong compatriots who shout and move chopsticks at the Chitose Poon Choi Banquet, Zheng Yukai, a "little milk lion" who is still wearing diapers but can dance lions, and "Ah Gong Ci Pork" who has to queue up to receive "blessings" every year, and sign language teachers broadcast the wonderful moments of the event online...... This scene is not only deeply engraved in the hearts of Xixiang people, but also spread to Shenzhen through text, video and other forms, and different IPs from all over the world have witnessed the grand occasion of this temple fair.
The temple fair is very "ancient", because the Xixiang Beidi Temple has a history of nearly 500 years, and it is the largest and far-reaching temple fair in Shenzhen that has lasted for many years;
This "ancient" and "new" temple fair was held in Shenzhen.
Saigo on March 3 was "busy"
Multiple events are rolled over a period of 9 days
Xixiang in the temple fair is hot and hot.
Lasting 9 days, the main venue activities such as the Chitose Poon Choi Banquet, the parade of 107 teams, and the "Ah Gong Ci Roast Meat" recalled all the villagers who went out from Xixiang, and the humanities and history exhibition, intangible cultural heritage festival, night market food festival, Lingnan Lion King Competition, e-sports carnival and other sub-venue activities also conveyed the culture and enthusiasm of Xixiang. Different from the traditional temple fair, the March 3 temple fair combines the elements of the modern national tide, and plays the movement of the emerging temple fair together with the traditional folk customs, stirring the "living water" of the young group under the premise of cultural adherence and redrawing the business card of the times.
On the first day of the temple fair, the most lively and grand part of the temple fair activities was ushered in - the "temple fair parade." In the noisy sound of gongs and drums, the mighty parade team along the Beidi Ancient Temple, Truth Street, Wang Dazhong Cheng Temple, Patrol Street, Mingle Street, Xixiang Wharf Site, Xuantan Ancient Temple and other historical relics and monuments of Xixiang Street, along the way crowded with people, citizens around to take pictures, very lively.
As one of the highlights of this year's temple fair, the modern Cantonese opera performance led by Zhou Xiaoju, president of the Xixiang Yifeng Drama Society, added another bright "trendy" color to this traditional temple fair. In this "Cantonese Opera", a number of new works are presented while retaining the essence of traditional Cantonese opera, incorporating more modern elements such as pop music, story themes, costumes and makeup. There was no shortage of young people sitting in the audience, who felt the impact of the traditional art form of modern Cantonese opera and felt the artistic heritage of traditional culture.
This year, the Shenzhen Puppet Art Theater also appeared at the temple fair, contributing two special performances at the event. The live puppet show will bring classic puppet short plays such as "Little Novice", "Dream Back to Youth" and "Lucky Lion Present" to the stage through various performance forms, integrating comedy, emotional drama and international elements, while the other performance, "Millennium Intangible Cultural Heritage Puppet Show", breaks the traditional field space and focuses on artistic inheritance and highlights the characteristics of puppet show skills, so that more people can approach, experience, taste and fall in love with intangible cultural heritage.
Multiple events are rolled over a period of 9 days. The reporter learned that this year's event for the first time adopted the form of "main venue + branch venue" multi-point linkage, and planned more than 10 branch venue activities, which were located in the museum, art gallery, Xixiang Hall, Yantian Community Yantian Night Market, Bao'an Library Xixiang Street Branch, Defeng Rongwanhui Commercial Plaza and other places, and the branch venue activities will continue from April 6 to early May.
Diversification and youthfulness are also the key words of this temple fair. Such activities include the Xixiang Humanities and History Exhibition, the 2024 Xixiang Beidi March Three Temple Fair and Intangible Cultural Heritage Festival, the Yantian Night Market Food Festival, the 2nd Xixiang Street "Traditional Culture" Theme Recitation Contest for Primary and Secondary School Students in 2024, the Lingnan Lion King Competition, the March Three Reading Traditional Series Activities, and the "Egg Boy Party - E-sports Carnival" theme activities, etc., so that the types of activities tend to be diversified and the participants tend to be younger.
In addition, in order to encourage citizens and tourists to share the surprise moments of visiting the temple fair, this year's event also set up an online prize check-in activity, where citizens and tourists post live videos and photos on platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin, and bring related topics, they will have the opportunity to win generous bonuses and surprise gifts.
Because of this, keywords related to temple fairs such as "Shenzhen Xixiang", "March 3rd Temple Fair" and "Poon Choi Banquet" dominated the hot search during this time.
The grand scene of thousands of empty alleys is reappeared
The Chitose Poon Choi Feast had a total of 1,300 tables, breaking the previous record
In Xixiang on March 3, there were thousands of empty alleys.
Speaking of the ancient temple of Beidi in Xixiang, many people will say "a long time ago", and the imprint of history is clearly visible on the walls of the temple. In 1993, the first Xixiang Beidi Ancient Temple Council was jointly established by the villagers of Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and a long scroll painting of "Xixiang Late Qing Dynasty Prosperity Record" restored the prosperous scene of Xixiang Market in the past, known as "Xixiang's Qingming Riverside Map", which was also drawn by the villagers of the two places. After that, at the temple fair every year, many villagers from Hong Kong, Macao and even abroad came to participate in the event, and relatives who had not seen each other for a long time gathered together to congratulate the magnificent scenery of Xixiang.
On the "Temple Fair Parade", 107 teams were ready to set off from Xixiang Park, all the way through the Beidi Ancient Temple, Truth Street, Wang Dazhong Cheng Temple, Xunfu Street, Mingle Street, Xixiang Wharf Site, Xuantan Ancient Temple and other historical relics and historic sites of Xixiang Street, which is a concentrated display of the profound cultural heritage of Xixiang Street. In this team, thousands of cast and crew of different ages braved the rain to parade 4 kilometers, from the elderly to the two-year-old baby. Along the way, the road was crowded with people, holding up mobile phones, and the shutter sounded one after another, which was a cheer for the parade.
Originally, there were only 106 teams scheduled for the parade, and two hours before the start of the parade, the "Happy Brother Liu" Yangge team enthusiastically joined. The participation of the "Happy Brother Liu" Yangge team has made people see the most essential side of the temple fair - as a group folk activity spontaneously organized and inherited by the people of Xixiang, it has always adhered to an open and inclusive attitude, welcoming participants from all over the world and different cultural backgrounds to jointly bring rich colors and diverse cultural exchanges to the temple fair.
The large parade was full of people, and it reappeared again at the temple fair to usher in another "regular" event - the Chitose Poon Choi Banquet. On the evening of April 11th, the Poon Choi in the streets and alleys in front of the Beidi Temple Square in Xixiang was fragrant and lively, and the Chitose Poon Choi Banquet was lively, Xixiang residents and foreign tourists gathered in Xixiang to taste delicacies, listen to Cantonese opera, and reminisce about the old feelings. It is reported that the number of tables for this Chitose Poon Choi Banquet broke the record of previous years, with a total of 1,300 tables, filled with many historical sites such as Truth Street, Beidi Ancient Temple Square, Xixiang Park, and in front of Wang Dazhong's ancestral hall.
"Don't crowd, get in line, everyone has a share. On the third day of the third lunar month (April 11), the Truth Street once again ushered in the peak flow of people, and people invariably came to the ancient temple to stage the grand feast of "Ah Gong gave pork". The villagers dressed in traditional costumes, carrying several roast pigs, the scene of gongs and drums shook the sky, the sound of firecrackers, people lined up in a long line, and everyone who received the roast meat was beaming. According to the relevant person in charge of the temple fair, this year's "Ah Gong Ci Pork" prepared a total of 18 roast pigs, and all of them were finished in one hour. "The neighborhood, the tourists, the staff, everyone has a share. ”
In addition to the crowds offline, there is also a lively scene online. At the beginning, the live broadcast room led by the host group of Shenzhen News Network was also hot, and tens of millions of people poured into the live broadcast room. Some attentive people found that in the lower right corner of this year's live broadcast screen, there is a sign language broadcast teacher who is also synchronously delivering the wonderful moments of the event in sign language. "Considering that there will be a large number of netizens watching the live broadcast, we specially arranged sign language anchors, so that hearing-impaired friends can also feel the charm of this traditional cultural event. Li Jinyu, a member of the Party Working Committee of Xixiang Street, said that this is not only the first time to introduce sign language anchors in the March three temple fair activities of Xixiang Beidi, but also the first time in Shenzhen and even the province to enable sign language interpreters in the live broadcast of large-scale temple fairs.
Looking at the crowded and lively Xixiang Old Street at this moment, Ms. Huang, who made a special trip to her hometown from abroad, couldn't help but redden, she sighed: "Seeing that the temple fair in my hometown is so prosperous, I have a nostalgia and a sense of pride." In foreign countries, people often say that your hometown Shenzhen is developing well, and I will proudly respond to 'Of course'!"
Why does March 3 last for 500 years?
Look at the intangible cultural heritage elements in the temple fair
Let the traditional culture be presented in a way that the masses like to see
In Xixiang, everyone is an inheritor.
The grand scene of the temple fair stems from the inheritance of people's history and culture. The 2024 work report of the Party Working Committee of Xixiang Street pointed out that it is necessary to carefully build a characteristic cultural brand, promote the "March 3" temple fair to apply for national intangible cultural heritage projects and provincial inheritors, and create Xixiang characteristic cultural tourism IP. Xixiang, which adheres to the inheritance, is like a bond that stretches for 500 years, tied to the historical and traditional culture on the one hand, and the people on the other, who are telling the story of Xixiang in the way of "Xixiang people".
The Xixiang Beidi March Three Temple Fair is a traditional cultural activity held by the people to celebrate the birthday of Beidi, and it is currently the largest traditional temple fair in Shenzhen, and was selected as the eighth batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage projects in Guangdong Province in April 2022. Nowadays, it has become a cultural event that unites the people of Xixiang and the overseas Chinese from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan in Xixiang.
The diverse population structure of Xixiang also determines the inclusiveness of the Xixiang Beidi March Three Temple Fair. "Everyone is an inheritor" is the development concept of this heritage project, which actively attracts the participation of people from Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas Chinese, enriching the types of temple fair activities, and enhancing the sense of participation and gain of different groups of people in temple fair activities. Everyone participates in the formation of a cross-border temple fair cultural space.
During the temple fair parade, 10 national intangible cultural heritage project teams were specially invited to participate in the parade, performance and display, and jointly staged an "intangible cultural heritage drama". Among them, there are Chaozhou big gongs and drums, Huang Feihong Zhonglian Cable Martial Arts Dragon and Lion Troupe, Chaoyang Ying Song and Dance, Shenzhen Xin'an Shangchuan Huang Liansheng Lion Dancing Martial Arts, Wuchuan Meiling Floating Color (12 boards), Shanwei Qilin - Desheng Hall of Niu Tue Village (Wengong Township), Jiesheng Town, Shanwei City, Shenzhen Yantian Shatoujiao Fish Lantern Dance, Guangdong Cantonese Opera, Chaozhou Inlaid Porcelain Exhibition and Hunan Flower Drum Opera.
In addition, nearly 10 youth parade teams such as martial arts, Hanfu, dance, and lion dance gathered in Xixiang to demonstrate the infinite possibilities of intangible cultural heritage inheritance and development with exquisite skills and enthusiastic performances. In addition to the national intangible cultural heritage team, a number of folk parade teams with local cultural characteristics either show the "oyster" feeling, or express the "lion" meaning, or restore the traditional fishing and farming, or show folk customs, and the traditional folk performances such as dragon and phoenix, unicorn dance, etc., which are in contrast to each other, winning the audience's applause.
The grand scene of the temple fair broke people's prejudice about the weak historical heritage of Shenzhen, and also let everyone see that Shenzhen is protecting the cornerstone of history and culture, while combining the elements of the new era, so that the traditional culture can be presented in a way that the masses like to see.
And inheritance is the secret of the temple fair's continuation to this day.
【Economic benefits brought by the temple fair】
The surge in popularity ignited the surrounding businesses
Some shops account for more than 50% of the annual turnover during the temple fair
The temple fair economy has given a new way to stimulate consumption.
As we all know, where there are people, there is consumption. During the March 3rd temple fair, the popularity of the surrounding business directly ignited. Sugar water shops, cafes, clothing stores, bakeries, ...... Most of the small shops on both sides of the old street serve local residents on weekdays, and the annual Pak Tai Temple Fair attracts a large number of citizens and tourists, and the shopkeepers of nearby shops are busy one by one.
People watched the intangible cultural heritage performances, enjoyed the dragon and lion dances, took a break in the coffee shop when they were tired, and opened their taste buds in the food market when they were hungry...... Under the lively scene, there is more interpretation of stimulating consumption. The reporter learned that the event not only opened up two food sub-venues, set up a number of cultural sub-venues, but also added a special check-in social experience tour line, aroused the enthusiasm of young people to challenge the game stamps, successfully brought fire to the surrounding neighborhoods and nearby scenic spots, and extended the consumption space to a certain extent.
A series of measures go hand in hand to promote economic consumption. The long-established Quanli Old Bakery from Truth Street accounts for more than 50% of the annual turnover during the temple fair. At the same time, sales of other stores on the street near the Pak Tai Temple have also soared, and the bosses have said that this is the best time for business since the end of this year.
"Since the beginning of the Qingming Festival holiday, it has ushered in the peak period of passenger flow, and the holding of the Xixiang Beidi March Three Temple Fair can be said to have added another fire and further attracted consumers. Li Xinquan, project director of Shenzhen Commercial Industry Association, said that the holding of the three temple fairs in March is an old tradition in Xixiang, and the neighborhood near the Beidi Ancient Temple has always been the choice of nearby residents, coupled with the blessing of the surrounding business district and Yantian Night Market Street, as well as the full empowerment of local characteristic cultural activities, tourists can enjoy a new experience of interweaving traditional folk customs and modern commerce, and look forward to Xixiang striking while the iron is hot, grasping this kind of "content + traffic" cultural phenomenon, and creating a cultural tourism scene of "cultural flavor + fireworks".
Xixiang Street continues to make efforts in excavating the connotation of traditional culture, creating high-quality cultural tourism projects, and building temple fair consumption scenes, and skillfully combines culture, tourism, and commerce to create a "super cultural tourism landmark" that integrates consumption and culture, and "connotation" and "appearance" are constantly enriched and improved.
The temple fair activities have driven a sharp increase in surrounding consumption, which is the first phenomenal scene in Shenzhen to drive consumption growth through traditional cultural activities, which is closely related to Xixiang Street's efforts to cultivate new growth points for consumption. In recent years, Xixiang Street has comprehensively shaped the fashion consumption center, relying on consumption centers such as Daqianli Business District, Xixiang Pedestrian Street, Yantian Night Market Street, etc., and drawing a map of Xixiang's "Leyou Tesco" around nodes such as the Spring Festival, March 3, and National Day.
The March Three Temple Fair of Xixiang Beidi is not only a tribute to traditional culture, but also a useful exploration of the deep integration of culture, tourism and commerce in Xixiang Street.
【Social benefits brought by temple fairs】
There is a new way for Shenzhen-Hong Kong integration
There are also "new Xixiang people" who come from all over the country and even from all over the world
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out: "Guided by the core values of socialism, we should develop advanced socialist culture, carry forward revolutionary culture, inherit the excellent traditional Chinese culture, meet the growing spiritual and cultural needs of the people, consolidate the common ideological foundation of the whole party and the people of all ethnic groups in the country to work in unity, and continuously enhance the soft power of national culture and the influence of Chinese culture." ”
The March 3rd Temple Fair of the Ancient Temple of Beidi is a traditional folk cultural activity held to celebrate the birthday of Beidi, and now it has become a cultural event of the same origin that unites the people of Xixiang and the compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan who have gone out from Xixiang, and is the largest and far-reaching temple fair in Shenzhen that has lasted for many years. On the day of the live parade, more than 30,000,000 people watched it online, and the people were full.
On the day of the opening of the temple fair, among the majestic lions, a staggering "little milk lion" poked out, which instantly became the focus of attention of the audience and sprouted the hearts of countless netizens. This "little milk lion" is called Zheng Yukai, and his father Zheng Weicong is the leader of the first lion group, because Zheng Yukai is still wearing diapers, Xiao Yukai's parents love to call him "diaper lion". The video of her lion dance in the rain was reprinted by the People's Daily, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, Guangdong Release, Shenzhen Release and other central, provincial and municipal media platforms, detonating the traffic of the day. While paying attention to the "little milk lion", netizens also have a deeper understanding of the traditional culture of the temple fair.
Under the grand scene of the temple fair, many Hong Kong villagers rushed back, so that the villagers in Shenzhen and Hong Kong had a deeper emotional connection. Ms. Choi made a special trip from Hong Kong this year to participate in the Poon Choi Banquet, she was born in Saigo, living in Hong Kong, early that morning, she took her friends to have morning tea together, walked around Xixiang, and brought Hong Kong friends to taste Poon Choi here. "My hometown is getting better, but our love for it will never change," she said. ”
"The Xixiang Beidi March Three Temple Fair is constantly increasing its content, reflecting the blending of local culture and foreign culture, which makes the traditional temple fair show great modern significance. Song Junhua, president of the Guangdong Provincial Association for the Promotion of Intangible Cultural Heritage, took the special performance of Hunan Flower Drum Opera as an example this year, and believed that the Xixiang March 3rd Temple Fair would promote the cultural integration of the seaside temple fair and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
In addition to the local Xixiang people and ancestral Xixiang people, there are also "new Xixiang people" who come from all over the country and even from all over the world. Omar is from Ecuador, South America, a country co-built by the Belt and Road Initiative, and is an international student at Shenzhen University.
Such activities not only promote understanding and respect between different cultures, but also provide a valuable platform for the promotion and inheritance of traditional culture. "This is the first time that the Kepong Shengwei Dragon and Lion Troupe from Malaysia has participated in the temple fair parade in Shenzhen. They expressed their great honor to be invited to participate in such an international cultural exchange event and to perform on the same stage with performers from all over the world. What started as a folk ritual of worshipping the gods and praying for blessings has developed into a bond of unity and cohesion.
"Comrades! The journey is long, but there is only struggle. The opportunity for the development of Xixiang cannot be lost, and the time will never come. The horn of the new journey is exciting, and the magnificent voyage of the new journey is moving. Song Dedong, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Xixiang Street, issued a clarion call at this year's Party Working Committee Work Conference, and he should work hard to "build a new Xixiang" and strive to be the vanguard of Bao'an's "three cities" construction.
In the spring of 2024, Xixiang Street fired the first shot of "rebuilding a new Xixiang" with the March Three Temple Fair; As Song Dedong said, Xixiang Street will make new and greater contributions to the construction of "three cities" in Bao'an, and Shenzhen's construction of an economic center with more global influence and a modern international metropolis. Source: Shenzhen News Network