The three-day Boluo Dan Temple Fair will kick off at the Nanhai God Temple, Huangpu District, Guangzhou this Sunday, March 17th, 2019.

The opening ceremony of the Boluo Dan Temple Fair in 2018. [Photo/Liang Wenxiang]

This ‘thousand-year temple fair’, celebrates the birth of Boluo, the God of the sea, falling on March 19th this year. It is one of the biggest and oldest traditional folk temple fairs in Guangzhou, and was included on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Register in 2011. Every year, people from all walks of life attend to pray for good fortune and spectate.

A major event on the city’s festival calendar, this year’s fair will present a traditional parade called ‘Five Sons Worship Their Sea God Father’, special delicacies including Boluo zongzi, traditional souvenirs including Boluo Chicken, cultural performances, and parent-child stage plays.

The opening ceremony of the Boluo Dan Temple Fair in 2018. [Photo/Liang Wenxiang]

Must see parts of the festival include the opening ceremony to be held at the southern square of Nanhai God Temple on the morning of March 17th, the traditional parade which will take place inside the scenic area starting from 10 am on March 19th, and the Boluo Dan themed stage play to be performed at the district’s youth palace at 7:30 every night during the temple fair.

Nanhai God Temple, the main venue, has been closed for maintenance since last July. It will only temporarily open to the public for three days during the fair.

Nanhai God Temple [Photo/Newsgd.com]

The temple was the place where local people in ancient times made offerings to the Sea God. It is the only temple left of the four ancient Sea God Temples in China. Founded in the Sui Dynasty (circa 594), it is of important value in the study of foreign trade in ancient China, with Guangzhou being the starting point for the ancient Maritime Silk Road, and is a place where you can get a dose of real Cantonese culture.

Period: March 17th – 19th, 2019

Admission: RMB 20 per ticket

Metro: Nanhai God Temple Station, Line 13

Bus: Take one of the following BRT buses, B1, B1 express, B26, B28, B29, B30, or B31, and get off at Nanhai God Temple station.

Add.: No.22 Xuri Jie (Street), Miaotou Village, Nangang Town, Huangpu District, Guangzhou (广州市黄埔区南岗镇庙头村旭日街22号) 

Reported by Monica Liu

Edited by Simon Haywood