Ditan Temple Fair. [Photo/Xinhua]

Going to temple fairs during Spring Festival remains a favorite activity of Beijing residents spending the Lunar New Year in the capital. Most offer cultural performances and a variety of booths with vendors demonstrating and selling traditional arts and crafts.

The fairs also have a lot of games for children and adults and a host of local snacks, court foods, and other dishes to taste.

Dragon and lion dances, waist drum dancing, lotus blossom fairy dances, ground and clam dancing, as well as other folk performances are featured at most temple fairs. Some even stage traditional wedding ceremonies.

For foreigners, a temple fair is definitely the best chance to experience the most original folk culture and enjoy unique craftsmanship in items displayed by local artisans.

This year, Beijing has prepared various cultural activities at temple fairs. Let's take a look at them.

Ditan Temple Fair

Dates: Feb 8-12

Venue: Ditan Park, Dongcheng district

Admission: 10 yuan

The location of the city's busiest temple fairs since 1985, Ditan (Temple of Earth) Park is the site of the altar where sacrifices were formerly offered to the earth god.

This year's fair will add more cultural elements, including reenactments of traditional Qing Dynasty ceremonies to worship the God of Earth, Qinqiang Opera and Huangmei Opera performances, a folk flower fair, and photo exhibitions.

Longtan Temple Fair

Dates: Feb 8-12

Venue: Longtan Lake Park, Zuoanmennei Dajie, Chongwen district

Admission: 10 yuan

This year the fair's theme will be the Winter Olympics and will highlight the cultural characteristics of winter sports. The park will be divided into five sections, including an intangible cultural heritage display, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei culture show, interactive zone, Beijing culture display zone and Winter Olympics themed zone.

Those in attendance can enjoy a flower fair, acrobatics show, Quyi performance, photo exhibitions and other activities. Parents can ask for a bracelet for their children that will help find youngsters if they get lost during the fair.

Daguanyuan Temple Fair

Dates: Feb 8-12

Venue: Daguanyuan Park, Xuanwu district

Admission: 40 yuan

The park will continue a performance of the opera Concubine Yuan Paying a Visit Home, which was adapted from a chapter in the classic novel A Dream of Red Mansions. The performance will be staged twice a day starting at 9:30 am and 1 pm.

Badachu temple fair

Dates: Feb 8-13

Venue: Badachu Park, Shijingshan district

Admission: 10 yuan

A grand performance will include 108 people reenacting a scene from the Qing Dynasty, when the emperor dressed up for a cruise and prayed in the temple during Lunar New Year. The performance will be put on twice a day from Feb 8 to 13. A series of cultural activities showing traditional customs can also be seen at the fair.

Shijingshan Temple Fair

Dates: Feb 8-14

Venue: Shijingshan Amusement Park, Shijingshan district

Admission: 10 yuan

Since 2000, the annual Shijingshan Temple fair has been a foreign-style temple fair that has the flavor of a foreign carnival parade.

A majority of the goods available at this year's fair will be from Europe. There's also a float parade featuring Cinderella, clowns and a music car. Beijing snacks will be sold and intangible cultural heritage exhibits will be on display.

Changdian temple fair

Dates: Feb 8-12

Venue: From Hufang Bridge to Heping Gate in Xuanwu district

Admission: Free; Folk custom zone: 2 yuan

This fair digs deep into Beijing's "New Year atmosphere" and offers special Beijing snacks, folk handicrafts and the "scholar's four jewels" infused with traditional customs. The fair is colorfully inspired by old Beijing Spring Festival temple fairs.