Celebrate the Lunar New Year at the Temple Fair in Budapest's Chinatown

Lunar New Year and Temple Fair

For Chinese people, the New Year Fair is as traditional and festive as the Christmas market in Western cultures. The Lunar New Year (which falls on January 22nd this year) is welcomed by huge celebrations worldwide. This includes the Hungarian capital: on the weekend that follows the actual Lunar New Year (so 28-29 January), a Temple Fair (or "Miaohui" in Chinese) will await us in Budapest's Chinatown to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit.

The Temple Fair was originally a religious gathering and ritual held around the temples in China, hence the name. Later folk performances and markets accompanied them, which made the fair a fun and popular event to visit. It is now considered a national heritage. And, for the first time, the Chinese community of Budapest's Chinatown will share this special heritage with us, combining outdoor folk entertainment with immersive indoor cultural interactions and DIY workshops.

Temple Fair activities

See the lion dance and dragon dance, followed by a parade featuring Chinese folk garments, play costumes, hanfu, and festive dresses. Be amazed by the magical "face-changing" show, an ancient Chinese dramatic art that is part of the Sichuan opera.

Join games and DIY workshops, such as Chinese knotting, paper cutting, DIY dragon, DIY lantern, ink brush writing and drawing, Chinese architecture “lego”, or colouring. Try on the traditional Chinese dress hanfu (available in different sizes and styles). Make a wish and hang it on the blessing tree.

Indulge in festive food; apart from the beloved jiaozi, jianbing, lamian, and spring rolls, many festive dishes will be made for the special occasion, like the sesame balls, Peking duck rolls, and tangyuan. Apart from tasting, you can also learn to make jiaozi (Chinese stuffed dumplings, which are the must-have staple food during Chinese New Year), following the guidance of a professional chef. And you can have culture 'for take-away' as well: all the decorative, handcrafted and DIY products can be bought on site, offered by PinDongFang, one of the sponsors of the event.

Pin Dong Fang

Pindongfang.com is the ultimate Chinese webshop, where you can get your hands on any gift, from a bamboo tea strainer and Chinese tongue drum to rabbit plush toys and lanterns. They sell Asian-themed products featuring traditional and pop cultural elements of China, Japan, and South Korea. They also deliver from Budapest to all over Europe with the dispatch centre located in Budapest’s Chinatown.