44.Festivals and Events
Activities
Festivals and Events
Beijing has exciting events and festivals occurring throughout the year:
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year, also known as the
Spring Festival, occurs in January or February, with the date varying
each year depending on the lunar calendar. It is the most important
festival in China and period of celebration extends for 15 days, with
the first week being a public holiday. Train and bus stations and
airports are very crowded at this time with people traveling back to
their home towns to visit family. Chinese families decorate their homes
in red for good luck, give children “lucky money” in small envelopes,
and prepare feasts of special foods which symbolize wealth and
longevity.
Dancing dragon at Chinese New Year Parade
Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival falls on the last of
the fifteen days of the Chinese New Year festival. At night all over
the city there are parades of children carrying lanterns, which are
symbolic of good luck. Good places to watch the parades are the Workers’
Cultural Palace, the Old Summer Palace and in Zizhu Park.
Ice Lantern Art Festival
From January 15 to February 28 there is
the Ice Lantern Art Festival in Longqing Gorge, 52 miles from Beijing.
This winter festival of ice sculptures has become a popular excursion
for tourists visiting Beijing in the winter.
Qingming or Tomb Sweeping Festival
The Qingming or Tomb Sweeping Festival in
April is on the 104th day after the winter solstice. The festival
celebrates the arrival of spring and is a time of remembrance for
departed ancestors.
International Kite Festival
The International Kite Festival takes
place in Beijing in April and features kite flying competitions,
colorful kite displays and dragon dances.
Dragon Boat Festival
June is the time of the famous Dragon
Boat Festival with exciting dragon boat races on rivers and at the
coast. During the festival people throw small leaf-wrapped packets of
rice into the water to commemorate Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet, who
drowned.
Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival
takes place on the full moon of the eighth lunar month, usually in
September. It is a Chinese version of Thanksgiving for the summer
harvest and features moon cakes, dragon dances and lanterns.
National Day
October 1 is National Day and is a public
holiday to commemorate the establishment of the Central People’s
Government in 1949. Tiananmen Square is decorated with flowers and there
are concerts and firework displays organized throughout the city.
Beijing Music Festival
The Beijing Music Festival is a three week long highlight in October and November with a variety of concerts and operas.
Winter Solstice Festival
The Winter Solstice Festival in December
marks the shortest day of the year. People celebrate the beginning of
the lengthening days with family reunions and eat special glutinous rice
balls.
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