China — Events
Meet in Beijing Arts Festival
The ‘Meet in Beijing’ Arts Festival transpires in and around the city starting in April/May annually and running on into the autumn months. Each year the festival takes on a different theme and nearly 10,000 artists from 80 countries presented over 100 performances to an audience of an estimated two million and 2010 is expected to be even bigger.
Guangdong Dragon Boat Festival
The Guangdong Dragon Boat Festival has become an international event that has been taking place each year since 1995 and draws dragon boats from all over China, the US, Canada, Australia, and Singapore. Nowadays the dragon boat is much smaller and faster than its predecessor which was said to be over 98 feet (30 m) long and over 6 foot (2 m) high. The festival takes places each year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
Beijing Music Festival
This event spans almost the entire month of October and features orchestras, opera houses and soloists from around the world. It is considered far and wide to be among the top five music festivals in the world.
Shanghai Tourism Festival
The massive Shanghai Tourism Festival showcases not only all the city has to offer visitors, but is the perfect event for locals and foreigners to discover the fascinating Chinese culture and history. The opening ceremony takes the form of a grand-scale parade of floats and international performance troupes telecast live to the whole country. Millions of locals and visitors participate in the hundreds of events and activities presented at the festival ranging from Chinese cooking classes and bicycle tours to fireworks displays.
Moon Festival
One of China’s most beloved cultural celebrations is the Moon Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival, marking the end of the harvest season. Main symbol of the festival is the baking and eating of Moon Cakes: round pastries with sweet fillings. In Shanghai the favorite filling is red bean paste. Houses are decorated with colored animal-shaped paper lanterns and altars are piled with round fruits to symbolise the shape of the moon. The evening is spent moon-gazing and enjoying the company of family, before enjoying a feast at midnight.
China Shanghai International Arts Festival
Shanghai becomes the focus of arts fundis during the month-long festival hosted by the Ministry of Culture annually since 1999. The varied program features more than 150 performances covering everything from symphony orchestras, dance, and opera to acrobatics, magic and drama. Allied events are an international piano competition, magic festival and contest, an Asia music festival and an arts and crafts fair.
Longqing Gorge Ice and Snow Festival
A magical winter wonderland provides a fun day out for locals and tourists alike at the three-day ice spectacle held annually north of Beijing. Try your hand at ice-fishing or one of numerous other ice or snow sports, and finish off the day marvelling at the intricately carved ice sculptures and ice lanterns on display, while fireworks turn the icy gorge into a colorful light show.
Spring Festival
Most tourists know the Spring Festival as the Chinese New Year, and it is one of the most important traditional festivals in China. Hundreds of thousands of people take the streets and parks across the country to ring in the New Year. Traditionally, the Spring Festival is celebrated by enjoying a New Year feast, setting off firecrackers, hanging red lanterns, and visiting relatives and friends. The Festival takes place every year on the first day of the first lunar month.
Shanghai Chinese New Year
New Year starts with a bang in Shanghai, where exuberant and exceedingly loud fireworks displays rock the city all night long on this, China’s most merry of celebrations. Not everyone appreciates the scale of the fireworks, but traditionally the noise is necessary to frighten off evil spirits for the coming year. During the national holiday the Bund and clubs throughout the city are thronged with revelers, making for a city-wide party. In 2008 the Year of the Rat begins.
Chinese New Year in Beijing
Chinese New Year in Beijing is a noisy, colorful (and that’s not just the fireworks) and busy occasion. Boys and girls on stilts, life-sized puppets and costumed carousers sing and dance in the streets. Not a whole lot of sleep is possible during this week of celebration. The Eastern Mountain Taoist Temple on the east side of the city hosts the New Year Temple Fair where one could find some respite from the revelling in the main hall, which features a Taoist orchestra playing traditional flutes and pipes.
