March 2 is the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, which is called "the dragon looks up" by the people. This morning, the 15th Yiyang Lingshan Cultural Temple Fair was grandly opened in Guanyin Square of Lingshan Temple in Yiyang County, and tourists and vehicles from all over the world came in an endless stream. Lingshan Temple, located 8km west of Yiyang County, is the sister temple of Baima Temple, the ancestral temple of Buddhism in China, and the only famous Buddhist holy place and tourist attraction in the Central Plains.
In 2000, the Yiyang County Party Committee and the county government established the "Yiyang Lingshan Cultural Temple Fair", which gave new meaning to the ancient temple fair and attracted nearly 300,000 visitors every year. Nowadays, Lingshan Cultural Temple Fair has become one of the most influential and attractive cultural activities in western Henan after the Spring Festival and before the Peony Fair.
History of Lingshan Temple in Yiyang:
Yiyang Lingshan Temple, a thousand-year-old temple, is the sister temple of Baima Temple, the ancestral temple of Buddhism in China. It is also the only famous Buddhist resort and tourist attraction in the Central Plains. Since 2000, Yiyang County of Henan Province has reformed and enriched the traditional Lingshan Temple Fair with a long history with the aim of "government leading, public participation, tourism development and economic revitalization".
The spontaneous traditional temple fair, which mainly burns incense and worships Buddha, will be turned into a cultural temple fair covering tourism, cultural performances, economic and trade exhibitions and Buddhist activities. Every temple fair, the number of people's organizations in western Henan and neighboring provinces is more than 500 thousand.
Based on the principle of "enthusiasm, solemnity, health and order", Lingshan Cultural Temple Fair focuses on publicizing the Party's policies, skills of getting rich and stamp collecting knowledge to the masses, and arranges colorful folk acrobatics, touring performances, stamp collecting exhibitions and "culture, science and technology, healthy going to the countryside" and other activities in the form of activities. Lingshan Temple Fair has become the most influential rural cultural activity in western Henan after the Spring Festival and before Luoyang Peony Fair.