The charm of Beijing’s folk customs lies in the festive rituals and daily warmth throughout the four seasons. From the lively bustle of Spring Festival temple fairs to the quiet elegance of Mid-Autumn moonlit nights, from the refreshing pleasure of Dragon Boat Festival boating to the blessing of health during Double Ninth Festival mountain-climbing, each festival carries unique cultural connotations. Regular activities such as Peking Opera performances and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) workshops make this cultural charm last throughout the year. For foreign tourists, exploring Beijing’s folk customs along the festival timeline not only allows you to experience a strong festive atmosphere, but also touch the real life rhythm of locals, and understand the spiritual core of this ancient capital in rituals and daily warmth.
The Spring Festival is the most grand traditional festival in Beijing, and temple fairs are the core carrier of Spring Festival folk customs. Among them, Ditan Temple Fair and Longtan Lake Temple Fair are the most representative, usually held from the first to the fifth day of the first lunar month. Ditan Temple Fair retains the legacy of imperial sacrifices. The area surrounded by red walls and yellow tiles is filled with ICH handicraft stalls and characteristic snack stalls, with dragon and lion dances, Sichuan opera face-changing and acrobatic performances staged in turns, creating a lively atmosphere. Tourists can taste traditional snacks such as soybean paste rolls, glutinous rice cakes and sugar paintings, experience ICH techniques such as paper-cutting and shadow puppetry by hand, and purchase cultural and creative products with Year of the Horse elements——2026 is the Year of the Horse (Bingwu Year), and the temple fair has specially launched exclusive items such as horse-shaped sugar figurines and embroidered horse pendants, symbolizing “vigor and vitality” and “success at first try”. Longtan Lake Temple Fair focuses more on interactive experience, with traditional amusement projects and parent-child interaction areas, suitable for family tourists. The lake will also hold a characteristic lantern show, with bright lights at night, creating a full sense of atmosphere.
Beijing on the Dragon Boat Festival (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month) shows a fresh and elegant folk style, and boating to admire lotus flowers is the core experience. Shichahai and the Summer Palace are the preferred places for Dragon Boat Festival boating. The lake is rippling with blue waves, and willow trees sway gently along the shore. Tourists can take traditional rowing boats to shuttle between the waters and enjoy the scenery along the way. Some scenic spots also hold Dragon Boat Festival themed activities, such as dragon boat performances in Shichahai and zongzi-making experiences in the Summer Palace. Tourists can learn to make zongzi by hand, understand the origin of the festival “commemorating Qu Yuan”, and feel the interactive fun of traditional folk customs. In addition, there is a custom of wearing sachets and hanging wormwood during the Dragon Boat Festival. Stalls around the scenic spots sell hand-made sachets, which are fragrant, decorative and symbolic of blessings, making them memorable souvenirs.
Beijing on the Mid-Autumn Festival (the 15th day of the eighth lunar month) takes “moon-gazing” as the core, hiding the most romantic folk rituals. Temple of Heaven Park, Summer Palace and Jingshan Park are the best places for moon-gazing. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in the Temple of Heaven echoes the full moon, showing the solemnity of imperial rituals; by the Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace, the moonlight shines on the lake, forming a stunning picture with pavilions and terraces. At night, a Mid-Autumn lantern show is held, with lights and moonlight shining together
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