The Jieyang City God temple fair
The afternoon of the twenty-third of the first month, in the old city of Jieyang: the City God goes out on tour. The file sets off from the City God temple by the arcaded street, the Jieyang academy, the Jinxian gate tower, out to the villages on the edge of town and back to the temple. In front are the blue lions and yingge, both national heritage items; behind come dragon dance, lion dance, lanterns, coloured flags and banner flags. Villages along the route set out incense tables and let off firecrackers, and people reach out to touch the lions and the lanterns. Municipal heritage item, 2007.
Four photographs of the 2026 fair on the twenty-third of the first month, from posts by the Douyin user @拍小手; not authorised by the photographer, used only to introduce this session, and withdrawn if the author asks.
1. A line round the old city
The route is a ring: out of the City God temple, along the arcaded street, past the Jieyang academy to the Jinxian gate tower, on to the villages on the edge of town, and finally back to the temple. The reporting from the ground in 2026 sets these points out clearly.
What the road strings together are all national and provincial protected sites: the old city of Jieyang holds four sites under national protection, and the City God temple itself is one of them.
| Year | Lunar date | Gregorian |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 23rd of the 1st month | 28 February 2027, Sunday |
| 2028 | 23rd of the 1st month | 17 February 2028, Thursday |
| 2029 | 23rd of the 1st month | 7 March 2029, Wednesday |
| 2030 | 23rd of the 1st month | 25 February 2030, Monday |
| 2031 | 23rd of the 1st month | 14 February 2031, Friday |
The Gregorian column is a calendar conversion and does not mean it will be held that way; no announcement for 2027 or later has been seen.
2. What is in the file
Clearing the way are the blue lions: the Jieyang blue lion is a national heritage item, and the “blue lion king” in this file is big enough to be seen the length of the street. The yingge troupe follows close behind, and after it dragon dance, lion dance, lanterns, coloured flags and banner flags. The form and the steps of yingge are in the yingge section.
Banner flags are standard kit at a Chaoshan procession: a long strip of silk on a pole carried by two people, embroidered with auspicious phrases. People along the route reach out to touch the lions, the lanterns and the banners, which is a way of asking for luck, not a breach of manners.
Order is kept by police outriders clearing the way, which the 2026 reporting records plainly.
3. Rank and standing
The City God is the god who holds the ground; his temple stands in the county seat, and his tour goes round the city and its four outskirts — the route itself states the reach of his authority.
The lists: municipal, announced in 2007, nominated by Rongcheng district; for the hierarchy, follow the heritage lists.
An older version of this page said the image set out at one in the afternoon and the file was close to eight hundred people. The reporting of 2026 by Xinhua and Nanfang Daily says only that it was that afternoon, with no setting-out time and no number; the page has gone back to “the afternoon” and gives no figure.
Getting there: the nearest station is Chaoshan, for the old city of Rongcheng, where the arcaded street and the Jinxian gate are within walking distance; do not drive into the old city that day. Village roads often run one way or are closed at short notice, and a navigation estimate excludes parking and the walk in; the way back should be arranged around the actual time the crowd disperses and the year’s trains.
4. Where to stand
Two layers: how past reporting describes it, and where this site suggests standing.
As past reporting describes it. Villages along the route set their own incense tables and let off firecrackers; people reach out from the roadside to touch the lions and lanterns; police outriders clear the way. The reports give no fixed viewing area.
An editorial note. Put a hand out and no more, do not pull at the banners; do not stand in front of an incense table; under the arcades on either side of the arcaded street is safer than the middle of the road. These are suggestions made here from standing at such sessions, not the rules of the organisers or the police.
5. Sources
| Source | Body | Date | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| “A feast of heritage at the Jieyang City God temple fair” | Guangdong provincial government portal (from Nanfang Daily) | 12 March 2026 | the afternoon of the twenty-third; the start, finish and waypoints; blue lions, yingge, dragon and lion dance, lanterns, flags and banners; the four national sites; the incense tables and firecrackers |
| “Xinhua report: a feast of heritage at the Jieyang City God temple fair” | Xinhua (reprinted by NetEase) | 13 March 2026 | photographs from the ground and from the air, the file passing the Jinxian gate; “one of the great traditional custom events of the place” |
Both can be opened. Neither gives the setting-out time or the number in the file.
6. What comes next
In lunar order: before it, Yanzao, dragging the god on the twenty-first and twenty-second; after it, the Azure Dragon temple fair on the twenty-fourth. Also in Jieyang are the Yangmei torch festival, Qiaolin, the firework dragon and Dachanglong, the lantern greeting.
Elsewhere on the site: the Jieyang City God temple, the Jinxian gate, the Jieyang Confucian temple, Jieyang routes.
Back to the Chaoshan procession calendar for all twenty-three sessions.
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Last revised: 4 November 2026