The 26th Hongluo Temple Spring Festival Blessing Garden Party in 2020

The Spring Festival is the most important traditional holiday for the Chinese nation. To meet the material and cultural needs of the public during this festive period and create a joyful and harmonious celebratory atmosphere, from the first to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Hongluo Temple scenic area will host the 26th Hongluo Temple Spring Festival Blessing Garden Party. Centered around traditional folk blessing culture, a variety of colorful and diverse recreational activities will be launched. Through organizing the blessing garden event, the platform aims to promote the dissemination of traditional folk culture, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the festive atmosphere amidst beautiful scenery and cultural experiences, and together savor the authentic flavor of China’s traditional “New Year.”

This year's garden party will feature both widely loved traditional activities such as the “Five Blessings Celebrating the New Year,” New Year blessings, welcoming the “blessing” of spring, viewing handmade palace lanterns, guessing fun lantern riddles, appreciating the “Three Friends of Winter,” and watching dragon dances, flagpole performances, lion dances, and various acrobatics—as well as intangible cultural heritage skills unique to Huairou District that reflect local cultural characteristics. These include fermented soybean curd making, swallow-shaped kites, ceramic painting, and folk flower parade performances, along with numerous other intangible cultural heritage projects such as straw weaving, gourd pyrography, sweet dumpling soup, sugar figurines, sugar painting, dough figurines, carved lacquerware, inside-painted art, facial masks, windmills, caricature portraits, and dragon-phoenix calligraphy. These activities allow visitors to participate and experience the artistic charm and valuable historical legacy of traditional Chinese folk crafts.

In addition, the garden party specially introduces culturally rich, fun, and interactive activities such as making wishes on the blessing wall, the “Spring Festival Atmosphere at Hongluo Temple in My Heart” photography competition, fun treasure hunts, couplet-writing contests within the scenic area, and live calligraphy by master artists creating blessing messages. These diverse forms of entertainment cater to visitors of all ages, offering both visual enjoyment and engaging experiences.

Building upon the environmental decorations of previous garden parties, this year’s Hongluo Temple Blessing Garden Party introduces new highlights. Within the ten-mile green corridor, a vibrant wisteria flower tunnel and a playful windmill corridor add a beautiful touch to the scenic area. Over 5,000 staff-made palace lanterns, symbolizing traditional Chinese festival elements, are hung at the entrance area and along main walking paths. Simulated flower trees in various colors—including peonies, plum blossoms, and peach blossoms—create a strong atmosphere of spring, while auspicious Five Blessings Gates and blessing plaques, along with traditional Chinese good-luck ribbons, blessings stickers, and bright red hues symbolizing happiness and fulfillment, enhance the festive and joyous ambiance. The rich variety of blessing-themed cultural activities, paired with the uniquely beautiful Buddhist garden scenery, paint a lucky picture titled “Hongluo’s Splendid Scenery Filled with Blessings, a Sea of Green and Mercy Clouds Blooming Across the Garden.”