Beijing burnishes credentials as national cultural center
Spring Festival used to showcase city’s rich heritage through public events
A series of cultural activities were organized in Beijing for the Spring Festival holiday — an eightday break celebrating the Year of the Dragon, which ran from Feb 10 to 17.
The government of the Chinese capital paid great attention to improving cultural events during the festival. It organized nearly 10,000 activities to satisfy public needs for the New Year celebration, said Zhao Weidong, deputy head of the city’s publicity department.
This year, temple fairs have been resumed at such tourist spots as the Changdian area and Ditan, Longtanhu and Daguanyuan parks after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Providing folk performances, including shadow plays and lion and dragon dances, these fairs attracted large crowds during the holiday.
The Changdian temple fair held around Hepingmen and Hufangqiao streets, for example, dates back more than 400 years and serves as one of the biggest and oldest temple fairs in the capital, according to the city government.
A large number of people sell old books, antiques, traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy at the Changdian fair. It also offers traditional amusements and local food and drink for visitors to get an authentic taste of the Chinese New Year.
This year, the temple fairs received 5.16 million visits during the holiday and positive feedback from tourists, according to media reports.
In addition, more than 150 theaters, 100 museums and 500 bookstores remained open during the holiday. Some bookstores stayed open 24 hours a day.
Nearly 2,000 performances, including dance, drama, traditional Chinese opera, small concerts, talk shows and acrobatic feats, have been provided by theaters to local residents and visitors.
The museums launched 215 cultural events and promoted 10 related tourist routes that combine food, entertainment, shopping and sightseeing services.
Beijing Performing Arts Center, Beijing Library and Beijing Grand Canal Museum — three landmark buildings in the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center in the city’s Tongzhou district — have received nearly 600,000 visits since opening on Dec 27.
Capitalizing on its status as a dual Olympic city, Zhao said Beijing promoted nearly 100 ice and snow-themed cultural tourism programs during the holiday. It also unveiled five new versions of Bing Dwen Dwen — the Beijing Winter Olympic Games mascot — in November, to celebrate the second anniversary of the Games and the Year of the Dragon.
“The dragon represents the spirit of the Chinese nation and the best wishes for health and well-being, which echoes the solidarity emphasized by the Olympic family,” said Lin Cunzhen, a designer of the dragon version of Bing Dwen Dwen.
Moreover, each of Beijing’s 16 districts and economic development zones organized various activities featuring their own characteristics, like Spring Festival galas, market fairs and carnivals.
The Sanlitun area in Chaoyang and Shougang Park in Shijingshan, for instance, have introduced “city walk” routes. These allow visitors to experience metaverse technologies, artificial intelligence and fashion consumption.