Zhangjiagang's temple fair may enter ICH list

The temple fair of Jincun village in the city of Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, was recently unveiled by the Ministry of Culture as part of a representative program on the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritages (ICH) recommendation list, along with another six temple fairs around the country.

Since the declaration and assessment of representative programs for the list started in 2013, the review committee of the Ministry carefully appraised 1,111 entries, and 298 of them have been included in the recommendation list.

The Jincun village temple fair can be traced back to the Song Dynasty (920-1279), and was originally held every year on the 8th day of the fourth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, to celebrate the birthday of Sakyamuni, the primary figure in Buddhism. Since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the temple fair has also been held to commemorate Jin Qi, an anti-Japanese hero in Zhangjiagang. It is now an influential cultural event for locals, and includes various activities, such as offering incense, worshipping Jin Qi and a temple fair.

In 2011, "Jincun Village Temple Fair" was included in the list of "Intangible Cultural Heritages of Jiangsu Province."

Zhangjiagang will continue its efforts in protecting cultural heritages, encouraging public participation and promoting folk culture with local characteristics.