The 3rd Fujian-Taiwan Xiahai Folk Culture Festival took place on April 3 in Canghai Village, Pingtan. Pingtan is the closest place on the mainland to the island of Taiwan and has been designated as a comprehensive pilot zone for cross-Straits integration.

The Fujian-Taiwan Xiahai Folk Culture Festival this year explores excellent folk cultural resources and carries forwards intangible cultural heritage by displaying folk cultural activities in Pingtan’s Canghai Village, Xiamen’s Jimei District, Taipei City of Taiwan to create a brand folk culture event and inject vitality into the integration and development of cross-Straits culture.

The followings are the highlights of the event. 

Fluttering colorful flags, blaring gongs and drums, and cracking firecrackers…As soon as reporters from Pingtan CMC arrived at the entrance of Canghai Village, the hullabaloo was being heard. The procession preparing to enter the village to parade had been waiting here. A wonderful custom show of a temple fair featuring the City God from Xiamen’s Jimei was about to start. Xiacheng City God Temple Fair in Jimei has a history of more than 350 years. It has been selected as a provincial intangible cultural heritage in Fujian this year. 

Custom exhibition team from Jimei Xiacheng City God Temple pictured marching in Canghai Village, Pingtan

The parade came as the percussions raised the decibel. The flowery float was followed by a throng of believers, accompanied by firecrackers.

Commonly led by respected elders of the local community, a temple fair is an annual rendezvous of rites and offerings; to give thanks to Heaven and the City God; to pray for another year of bumper harvest. The Xiahai Temple in Canghai Village of Pingtan is allegedly from the same branch of a big family tree, tracing it to the same root that branches the Xiacheng City God Temple in Xiamen and the Xiahai City God Temple in Taipei City. In 1821, Chen Jinrong, a native of Xiamen, sent a golden statue of the Xiacheng City God to Taiwan, and in 1859, the Xiahai City God Temple was built in Dadaocheng, Taipei. Thus, the Xiahai City God Temple in Taipei and other city god temples in Taiwan are the "nucleons" of a central belief and culture stemming from the Xiacheng City God Temple of Xiamen. Every year on the 13th day of the fifth lunar month when the Xiacheng’s City God was born, the City God temples across the Straits hold high-profile temple fairs.

"The cultures of Fujian and Taiwan share the same origin. Pingtan is an important bridge for cultural exchanges between the two sides of the Straits. This cultural festival is getting more and more inclusive," said Chen Wei, a local citizen.

In addition to attracting fans from Pingtan locals, the activity also impressed Zheng Jingen, a Taiwan compatriot working in Xiamen who came with the procession. Zheng is a native of Tannan City, Taiwan. He has been living and working in Xiamen for over ten years. It’s the first time Zheng came to Pingtan to experience the atmosphere of the Fujian-Taiwan Xiahai Folk Culture Festival and was touched. “Such fairs were often held back in Taiwan. It made me feel at home here,” said Zheng.

Custom exhibition team from Jimei Xiacheng City God Temple visits Xiahai Temple in Canghai Village, Pingtan

Wang Xunwu, head of the Taipei Xiahai City God Management Committee, said in his speech that it’s gratifying for compatriots from both sides of the Straits to gather in Canghai Village to celebrate the festival. Also as a Taiwan compatriot, Wang Xunwu has been working on the mainland. He said with emotion that compatriots on both sides of the Straits share common beliefs. During the Dragon Boat Festival, the customs of making rice dumplings, dragon boat racing, drinking realgar wine, and hanging wormwood are also passed down from generation to generation. It’s hoped that future generations will continue to inherit the fine five-thousand-year-old history, culture, and traditions.

Ciming Opera performance

Pingtan’s provincial intangible cultural heritage Ciming Opera became the finale and received a standing ovation. Ciming Opera originated in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. It is the oldest opera in Pingtan. It includes three forms: marionette, human performance, and manual puppet show. 

The festival was promoted by live-streaming, which attracted 120,000 viewers. The livestreamer was dressed in Han costume and introduced Pingtan, Xiahai Temple, Xiacheng City God Temple, and other cross-Straits folk cultures. 

The Fujian-Taiwan Folk Culture Festival was held for the first time in 2010. It has been held for three times, with a time span of close to 12 years. It is also a witness to the continuous exchange and prosperity of folk cultures across the Taiwan Straits. 

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