Taiyuan Festivals and Events

Jinci Ancient Temple Meeting
Every year at July 2nd of lunar calendar, a grant meeting is held at the Jinci Temple. The locals build a big broad awning, and invite theatrical troops to act on the platform. Besides, you may see the folk society as well as the fireworks performance.

Nowadays, the meeting is enriched with more meanings, making Jinci Temple not only a god temple but also an important platform for goods trading. Things to eat, wear, and play are available on the temple meeting. It is to be pleasant that many kinds of exhibitions are held, such as exhibitions of fish and plants.

Taiyuan International Folk Art Festival
The festival was firstly held on September 21, 1991. It is held every two years, accompanied with activities “Shanxi International Gong and Drum Festival” and “Shanxi Foreign Friendly Exchange Week”. 

On the opening ceremony of the First Shanxi Taiyuan International Folk Art Festival and International Gang and Drum Festival, the instrument team was consisted mainly of hundreds of young men and women who wore scarlet ancient costume silk clothing beating the gongs and drums. Then, the grand team of Dragon Dance with eight colors of red, orange, yellow, green, bright green, blue, purple and brown revealed power and prestige.

Thousands of actors from tens of National Art Groups gathered together at Taiyuan ancient city. All people were immersed in the happy atmosphere of the festival. Among these art groups, some came from Russia, North Korea, Japan, Singapore and Mongolia and so on. These foreign groups had given local people performances of their own cultures. In addition, there were painting, paper-cut art, sculpture, rap, acrobatics, magic, and clothing shows. All of these activities left splendid memories to locals.

Mt.Wutai International Tourist Month
Mt.Wutai, a famous Buddhism holy land, is the only mountain in the world where Chinese Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism coexist. Starting from 1989, Wutai scenic spot holds “Mt.Wutai International Tourist Month” in every July or August. This festival aims to comprehensively display the profound Buddhism culture of Mountain Wutai, delicate ancient architectural art and marvelous landscape to the world, trying to contribute Mount Wutai into an international tourist destination.

When the festival is held, many related activities will also be launched in Wutai Mountain. Currently, a total of 47 temples are preserved. Among them, Foguang Temple and Nanchan Temple are the oldest timber constructions built during the Tang Dynasty. The temples of Xiantong (Lingjiu), Tayuan, Pusading, Shuxiang and Luohou are classified as the Five Buddhist Sites of Mt. Wutai. Throughout history, many Buddhists from India, Nepal, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka have come to Mt. Wutai as pilgrims or to study Buddhism. Even today, as soon as the summer comes, tourists come here in an endless stream for sightseeing, burning joss sticks, and praying.

This festival provides a platform both for tourists to better enjoy the scenic spot, and the local tourism industry to enhance the international communication and corporation.

The Twin Pagoda Peony Festival
Yongzuo Temple, also known as the Twin Pagoda Temple, has over 400 years of history. The twin pagodas in the temple, which are the tallest ancient architecture in Taiyuan, have been recognized as the symbol of Taiyuan city for many years. The temple started to plant peonies since it was firstly built during the Ming Dynasty, and it is one of the oldest “peony temples” in China.

There are over 100 kinds of 5,000 peonies planted in Yongzuo Temple, forming an area of 180 acres of the peony garden. Every year between spring and summer, peonies in red, white, pink, etc. are flourishing in the garden. The colorful peonies and the twin pagodas reflect with each other, and a harmonious spring picture appears in front of the tourists.

The Twin Pagoda Peony Festival of Taiyuan is held every year from the late April to early May when it is the blossom peak of the peonies. During the festival, many celebrities are invited to create calligraphies and painting on the spot, and many tourists and local people come to appreciate peonies and take part in the related activities.

Taiyuan Wheaten Food Festival
In order to introduce the Taiyuan wheaten food to the world, Taiyuan government holds activities to enhance its famous wheaten food.

The First Taiyuan International Wheaten Food Festival was held from September 1 to 8, 2003. The festival was mainly organized by Taiyuan Municipality and China Cuisine Association, supported by National Commercial Department of China and assisted by Shanxi Provincial Cuisine Association, Taiyuan Tourism Agency, Taiyuan Cuisine Association and Taiyuan Jiangnan Catering Group.
 
The activities on this festival were various, including wheaten food exhibitions and performances from Italy, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and so on; 100 kinds of featured wheaten food and cookery shows and sales from China’s 30 more provinces and autonomous (covering Taiwan province, Hong Kong and Macao); exquisite quality exhibition of wheaten food; the world’s longest chopsticks show and World Guinness Record Declaration; World Wheaten Food Culture Seminars, etc. This festival was an important component of celebrating Taiyuan’s 2500 years anniversary.

After 2003, Taiyuan held three times wheaten food festivals respectively at 2004, 2005, and 2008. Although the activities held on each festival are various, the theme is the same: promoting the wheaten food culture of Shanxi province to the whole world.