Yuqi town in northwest Wuxi, Jiangsu province, celebrated the traditional Shangsi Festival on the third day of the third lunar month, which this year fell on a rainy March 30. The town did not let the spring drizzle dampen its spirits, with locals holding colorful folk activities.

Temple fair sings praises of traditoinal culture

The Dadun temple fair started early in the morning, with small stands showcasing food, crafts and performances of Wuxi opera at Tongting Square, the town’s communal space located next to the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway.

Behind the square is Fengfu Temple. First built in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the ancient temple is now a cultural relic site under the protection of the Wuxi government.The temple was decorated for the temple fair.

Fengfu Temple is decorated for the temple fair on March 30. [Photo by Liu Sitong/China Daily]

Wuxi Opera

Under a pink canopy put up for the rainy day, a Wuxi Opera performance is staged. Sitting by the Wuxi-Jiangyin canal that bridges the Grand Canal and Yangtze River, Yuqi used to be known as an “opera dock”, a place where various opera troupes gathered. [Photo by Liu Sitong/China Daily]

Specialty yellow wine

Local Yuqi Distillery hosted a wine tasting, where staff members took newly produced yellow wine from a wine-press for visitors to sample. The wine is made using aged wine as an ingredient. According to staff member Yu Jing, the wooden wine press has been in use for at least 20 years.

Local Yuqi Distillery hosts a wine tasting. [Photo by Liu Sitong/China Daily]

Visitors throng around local Yuqi Distillery's stand. The vintage wine press use the weight of stones to add pressure on the mash to produce filtered wine. [Photo by Liu Sitong/China Daily]

Crockery mending

Next to the distillery’s stand was crockery-mending craftsman Zhou Linyu, who repairs the clay urns used by the distillery to store wine for a living and offers such service for free to people who need it in his spare time. The fourth generation in his family to carry this traditional craft, Zhou has been mending crockery for 42 years.

Crockery mending craftsman Zhou Linyu sits on a bench next to his tools and piles of wine urns. [Photo by Liu Sitong/China Daily]