Singing with a candle-lit tray in the mouth—Beijing’s cultural temple fair evening show wows the crowd with “Lantern Drum” performance

▲ Beijing’s Ditan Cultural Temple Fair hosted a Lantern Festival evening show at the Flower Expo’s Butterfly Pavilion, attracting over a thousand attendees. (Photo / Reporter Chen Mingren)

Reported by Chen Ziyin / Taipei

This year, Beijing’s Ditan Cultural Temple Fair has once again made a grand move to the Butterfly Pavilion at Taipei’s Yuanshan Flower Expo Park. Tonight (5th), a special Lantern Festival evening gala was held. Hosted by former legislators Lei Qian and Hou Guanqun, the event featured a captivating performance of the traditional Beijing “Lantern Drum,” where performers sang while holding a candle-lit tray in their mouths, leaving the audience in awe. The show also included an acrobatic medley, crosstalk, and lively acts by the Magic Family.

The Lantern Festival evening show kicked off with the Beijing performance art “Lantern Drum,” which amazed the crowd. The performer held a tray with three lit candles in their mouth, ignited them, and then launched into a song. Their rich, melodious voice and impressive skills showcased the traditional singing culture of Beijing.

Performed by the Magic Family...

The final medley was adapted from popular hits like “Fire” and “Sunshine No. 1,” including a heartfelt rendition of “Little Apple.” Beyond the clever adaptation, the performance also demonstrated strong artistic skill. The evening ended with members of the Magic Mod Family inviting the audience to join in for a sing-along and dance party, creating a lively and joyful atmosphere.


▲ The closing medley saw Magic Mod Family members inviting the audience to join in singing and dancing. (Photo / Provided by the organizer)


▲ A dazzling acrobatic performance. (Photo / Reporter Chen Mingren)

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Lei Qian said that last year, the Beijing Ditan Cultural Temple Fair made its debut at the Zhenyan Pavilion and received an enthusiastic response. This year, the event is being held at the Butterfly Pavilion and surrounding areas, showcasing a rich array of authentic Beijing crafts and delicacies. The main stage of the evening gala was designed to resemble Beijing’s Huguang Guild Hall, and 300 folk artisans were brought in to present genuine Beijing culture to Taipei. The light projections, main stage lantern, and sound equipment were all meticulously prepared by a Taipei-based team, making this a top-notch cultural and creative exchange between both sides of the Taiwan Strait.



▲ Over 50 booths, all featuring traditional Beijing handicrafts and snacks. (Photo / Reporter Chen Mingren)



The Beijing Cultural Temple Fair, filled with the “flavor of a Beijing New Year,” set up 75 carefully selected booths around the Butterfly Pavilion, offering Beijing snacks, silk flowers, hand-painted snuff bottles, woolen figurines, paper-cutting art, and other intangible cultural heritage crafts—all demonstrated live by the artisans themselves. Visitors from China remarked, “In Beijing, you rarely see all these arts gathered together in one place. It’s truly spectacular.”

Beijing Cultural Temple Fair
Event dates: February 27 (Friday) to March 8 (Sunday)
Event hours: Weeknights 17:00–21:30, Saturdays and Sundays 13:00–21:30
Venue: Flower Expo Butterfly Pavilion
Address: No. 1 Yumen Street, Zhongshan District, Taipei City


▲ The main lantern at the Beijing Ditan Cultural Temple Fair in Taipei is a 6-meter-tall Temple of Heaven replica. (Photo / Chen Mingren)


▲ The entire area around the Butterfly Pavilion was part of the Beijing Ditan Cultural Temple Fair exhibition. (Photo / Reporter Chen Mingren)