After taking on an imperial robe and sitting on an imperial
chair, Basil Bernstein asked his Chinese friend to take a picture
of him at a temple fair.
"My wife said I am very handsome when wearing the imperial
robe," said Bernstein, a free-lance American photographer, at a
Spring Festival temple fair in southwest China's Chongqing.
The temple fairs, or "Miaohui" in Chinese, are usually held
during China's Spring Festival holidays to celebrate the arrival of
the Chinese Lunar New Year, which fell on Feb. 18 this
year.
Held at ancient temples, these colorfully decorated fairs
usually feature folk arts performances, including stilt-walking and
dragon and lion dances, and sale of snacks.
Two years ago, Bernstein attended a temple fair in Beijing and
has since been deeply attracted by this centuries-old event.
"To me, everything at temple fairs is wonderful," said
Bernstein, who had visited three temple fairs in the past two days
in Chongqing.
Kimura Takahiko, a Japanese businessman in Chongqing, said
temple fairs are like an expo of Chinese culture and a channel for
foreigners to get to know Chinese.
He has joined Spring Festival celebrations in China for four
consecutive years.
His impression of Chinese temple fairs: happy people in colorful
clothes, some holding the red Chinese knots or blowing small
windmills and people.
Kimura himself was dressed in red attire of traditional Chinese
style.
As part of Spring Festival celebrations, most Chinese people
stayed at home on New Year's eve to watch a grand gala broadcast
live on China's Central Television.
John Reilly, a British engineer with Nanjing MG Motor Company in
east China's Jiangsu Province, watched the live broadcast although
he had difficulty understanding some of performances.
The gala ran well beyond the midnight to witness the arrival of
the Chinese New Year's Day.
"I could not understand the contents of the songs, but I think
the songs are wonderful," he said.
But he said he could not understand the cross-talks and short
plays, two traditional Chinese comic forms featured by satirical
and punny dialogues or humoristic performances by one or more
actors.
"When the audience burst out laughing, I did not know why they
laughed," said Reilly.
Reilly said his company had offered him a feast for the Spring
Festival. He also received feast invitations from his Chinese
colleagues.
(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2007)