Wuxi Festivals & Events

Butterflies-viewing Festival

Date: 28th of third month in traditional Chinese lunar calendar
Butterflies-viewing Festival is a popular activity to pay homage to legendary Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, or the Butterfly Lovers in Yixing, Wuxi. Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, the protagonists of the popular Chinese legendary about their tragic romance who turn into a pair of butterflies. Yixing is one of the birthplaces of legendary about Butterfly Lovers with Hangzhou City. You will see thousand of butterflies flying around the Shanjuan Cave in Yixing every year in March. Among them, a pair of butterflies follows like a shadow. Thus the local named the black one as Zhu Yingtai and the yellow one as Liang Shanbo.

Dragon Boat Festival

Date: 5th May of Lunar Calendar
Dragon Boat Festival is one of traditional Chinese festivals in China for Chinese to remember a famous poet "Quyuan". Wuxi locals will have rice dumplings for breakfast during Dragon Boat Festival. Lunch is considered very important. Locals often kill geese and chicken for dinner and drink realgar wine on this day. The realgar wine can be sprinkled on the floor, rubbed on the body, or used to write the word “king” on the forehead of children to protect them from disease and poison.

Some people hang wormwood or Acorus calamus on the door, also known as aiqi or aijian, to protect themselves from evil spirits. Others also use wormwood to fumigate, sterilize and disinfect chambers.

The dragon boat race is a gala of Wuxi that takes place in the Yangtze River Delta on Dragon Boat Festival. It was popular in the period of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties and before the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Now, Huangbudun in Beitang district and Swan Lake of Dangkou town have become boat racing destinations.

Huishan Temple Fair

Date: 28th March in the Chinese Lunar Calendar
According to the legend, the day is the birthday of Huang Feihu, the God of Mount Tai. Other gods in other eight temples need to go to Huishan to worship the God of Mount Tai . As the locals believed, Huishan Temple Fair is originated from Ming Dynasty, and reaches its golden years in the period of late Ming and early Qing Dynasty. Cultural activities of the industrialists and merchants' family make the temple fair reached its heyday. The highlight of the fair will be the large-scale parade. The temple fair is very popular among local residents and overseas since it resumed in 1994.

Taibo Temple Fair

Date: Ninth day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar
The ninth day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar marks the traditional festival for Meicun people to pay tribute to Taibo, son of King Tai of the Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century to 256 BC) who brought the culture of the central plains along with its etiquette and agriculture to the region, serving as the origin of Wu culture. Taibo Temple Fair is the first temple fair in Jiangnan region (the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River) after the New Year.

Emperor Taibo and his brother Zhongyong settled down in Meili town and set up the State of Gouwu during the late years of Shang Dynasty. In 154 A.D. of the Eastern Han Dynasty, a temple for Taibo on the site of his former residence.The temple fair attracting people in surrounding villages to visit Taibo temple and worship the Lord of Comity. And now, not only people could worship in the fair, but also could they take part in cultural activities and view traditional crafts.

Taibo temple fair is one of the most influential events in Jiangnan region.