Bixia Palace

Bixia Palace

Bixia Palace, commonly known as the Mount Tai Temple, is located north of the Three-Arch Bridge. The Grand Canal bends southward to the west of the temple and then flows eastward around it, forming an embracing shape. The grandeur of the temple complex, the thriving incense offerings, and the bustling temple fair make Bixia Palace unparalleled in southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu. The Xiazhen Mount Tai Temple Fair, held annually from the 15th to the 18th of the fourth lunar month, is a major local spectacle. It is a key waterway hub where merchants from both north and south gather. Aside from worship ceremonies, it also serves as a center for trade and commerce. The fair features the parade of the Goddess Bixia Yuanjun, with the Goddess of Mount Tai being carried in a palanquin. The procession includes thousands of participants—such as ceremonial attendants carrying flags, gongs, umbrellas, and fans, guards wielding axes, halberds, and forks, accompanying deities portrayed by the Eight Immortals, monks from other regions, various musical bands, worshippers praying and making vows, and performers playing the roles of prisoners in shackles. The four-day temple fair includes two processions: on the 16th, the parade goes east of the canal; on the 17th, it goes west of the canal; and on the 18th, there is a divine opera performance. As recorded in the “Pei County Annals”: “Every April, the divine statues are paraded in an incredibly lively event that often draws tens of thousands of people. The grandeur can hardly be overstated.”