Traditions of Beijing
The capital of China for centuries, with imperial ritual, temple fairs at the new year and a famous roast duck.
Beijing has been a capital for around eight centuries, and its Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and hutong courtyard neighbourhoods carry that history. At the Spring Festival, temple fairs fill the parks, and families gather for dumplings on New Year's Eve. The city is also the home of Peking opera.
The Spring Festival
Beijing's traditional temple fairs, miaohui, bring stalls, folk performances and snacks to the parks in the first days of the lunar new year. Families paste red couplets on their doors and eat jiaozi dumplings at midnight. At the Mid-Autumn Festival, they share mooncakes under the full moon, and on the Double Ninth they climb the hills.
At the table
Peking duck is carved at the table and wrapped in thin pancakes with scallions and sweet bean sauce. Zhajiangmian noodles, hand-pulled lamb hotpot and tanghulu, candied hawthorns, are everyday and winter foods. Mornings might start with soy milk and fried dough sticks, youtiao.
Signature traditions of Beijing
Also part of it, and being written: Chinese New Year (The Spring Festival.), Peking duck (The roast duck dish.), Dragon Boat Festival (A summer festival of rice dumplings.).
A trail idea for Beijing
- Temple of Heaven Watch early morning exercise, music and cards in the park.
- Hutong lanes Walk the old courtyard neighbourhoods by bicycle.
- Liulichang A street of calligraphy and antique shops.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
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Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Mid-Autumn Festival: Shizhao, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Chinese opera: https://www.flickr.com/photos/univers-finder/, CC BY 2.0, source
- Lion dance: Alfresco24, CC BY 3.0, source
- Shadow play: Museu Valencià d'Etnologia, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Zangfu: Foristslow, CC BY 4.0, source
- Peking opera: Art Poskanzer, CC BY 2.0, source