Temperatures in Beijing would drop to -10C in Major Cold, the last solar term in the Chinese lunar year before the Spring Festival.
Despite the chill, a village fair in Beijing's suburban Tongzhou District is embracing the heat of trading because villagers start storing goods for the Spring Festivals a month in advance.
Stickers and lanterns for the Spring Festival at the village fair (Photo: People's Daily)
For folks living in villages and suburbs, going to the fair is an important event as well as a custom. Virtually all the daily supplies, including food and daily necessities, are from fairs.
Villagers plant their own vegetables and fruits, and sell the surplus in the fair. It is not surprising to see Chinese chives being sold right after they are picked from the field and villagers rush back home to replenish their cucumbers on sale. More people living in the city have been going there especially for the fresh vegetables and fruits.
Vegetables and fruits planted and sold by villagers.(Photo: People's Daily)
Freshly made delicacies is another fair attraction. A fresh pumpkin is peeled, mashed and baked into cakes. Villagers know each other very well so they know whose vegetables are fresher, who sells more fragrant sesame oil, or who has sweet carrots and whose pancakes are crispy.
Freshly cooked snacks (Photo: People's Daily)
A villager baking pumpkin cakes in the fair (Photo: People's Daily)
As the Spring Festival approaches, there is much to prepare. An electric tricycle will be a big help for villagers to take everything home fast and conveniently.
When they return home, that's the moment they start feeling the Spring Festival spirit.
(Compiled by Li Lei)
