By Xinyi Li, iChongqing News

Chongqing- On the morning of April 7, the Opening Ceremony of 2019 Fengdu Temple Fair kicked off there. Several magnificent performances allowed tourists to appreciate the traditional folk customs of Fengdu County. The Fair started on April 5 will run until April 10.

Running promotes the national fitness trend

The 3^rd National Fitness and Running centered on Healthy Fengdu County and Dynamic Temple Fair. Meanwhile, it kicked off on the morning of April 7. On the spot, tens of thousands of runners in all ages and both genders with colorful clothes gathered there. Additionally, they turned the streets of Fengdu into a sea of joy.

The parade of the Fair with tremendous momentum

With a history of 30 years, the parade of Fengdu Temple Fair is one of the paramount activities in the Fair. It starts at 4 p.m. every day, but for a glimpse of the parade, the crowds always arrive early to find the best viewing spot. In the sound of the archaistic music, the sacrificial ceremony began, 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 formation that citizens signed up for and participated in independently brought together various animation comic figures and cartoon characters, making the parade a carnival for the citizens.

Wuqiao Acrobatics, one of China’s folk stunts

The 2019 Fengdu Temple Fair gave a performance of Wuqiao Acrobatics, an intangible cultural heritage. As one of the earliest folk arts on China’s intangible cultural heritage list, the Wuqiao Acrobatics has gone on overseas stages many times and won a lot of commendation.

Such performances as swallowing swords, holding vats, Chinese shadow puppetry, solo puppetry, and riding motorcycles crosswise in a ball won the warm applause of the audience. The performance of riding motorcycles crosswise in a ball integrated acrobatics with modern elements, and 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 an audience in it.  The craftsmanship is compelling!