Spring Festival an opportunity to experience traditions
One place I found beneficial for understanding more of the traditional culture of Beijing has been Longtan. This is held in a large park set around an expansive lake east of the Temple of Heaven. I first came upon the park in 1998 when living close by. The water adds to the ambience and sense of space within the garden. On one festive visit to Longtan, I came upon performances of "street characters", for example carrying popular fruits on long poles. They would shout familiar calls of hawkers going around Beijing's hutongs. It was colorful and great for photography. Similarly at the southwestern corner of Beijing's Ming Dynasty Outer City continues a fair based around "Dream of the Red Chamber", one of the four ancient classic masterpieces of Chinese literature. Created between 1984 and 1989, Daguanyuan or "Grand View Garden" was the location for the filming of that television series. Performances during the festival period include reenactments of scenes from that very popular production.
