Temple fairs are traditional folk activities in China. The most distinctive temple fair in Liucheng is Kaishan Temple. Every year on the eighth day of the second lunar month, Kaishan Temple in Liucheng is very lively. Good men and women chant Buddhist scriptures in the smoke, make wishes in front of the Buddha, and pray for a safe life. Kaishan Temple, also known as Shoufo Temple, was built in the tenth year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (1805). It has a history of more than 200 years and is one of the four ancient temples in Guangxi. Kaishan Temple has beautiful scenery. There are 18 century-old banyan trees in front of the temple, which coincides with the meaning of the eighteen arhats worshipping Buddha, forming a unique scenery in Guangxi. Surrounded by mountains in the distance, there is a mountain in front of Kaishan Temple, which looks like a sleeping Buddha from a distance, very realistic. The Bodhisattvas enshrined in the temple are mainly Tathagata Buddha, supplemented by Arhats, Guanyin, etc. There are more than 100 Bodhisattvas of all sizes, each of which is vivid and lifelike. It is said that the eighth day of the second lunar month every year is the day when the Buddha became a monk, so it is regarded as the second birthday of the Buddha. On this day, the surrounding villagers spontaneously came to Kaishan Temple to celebrate the Buddha's birthday and pray for the Buddha's blessing. Over time, it developed into today's Kaishan Temple Fair. There is a cave on the back mountain of Kaishan Temple. The cliff carvings on the inner wall of the cave record that Kaishan Temple was built to thank the Buddha for his miracle. After the temple was built, descendants came to worship every day, and the incense was prosperous. The most grand day was on the 19th day of the second lunar month, and gradually formed a temple fair that was famous far and wide. The Kaishan Temple Fair is most famous for lifting the pavilion to worship Buddha. Before February 19th every year, Kaishan Temple invites people to the cave in the back mountain to move the Amitabha Buddha enshrined in the pagoda in the cave to the main hall of Kaishan Temple in front of the mountain, and prepares various offerings for all good men and women to worship. After February 19th, the Buddha statue will be moved back to the pagoda in the cave. Early the next morning, the abbot of the temple prepared the incense burner and offerings, and chanted scriptures and chanted Buddha according to the established rituals. After the ritual, believers will come forward to worship and pray for peace. In addition to worshipping Buddha, the good men and women who come to Kaishan Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha will also go to the hillside around the temple to pick a few branches, which means picking firewood (wealth). Some people also ask for a piece of golden firewood or a bag of happy rice in front of the Buddha Hall. In addition to taking away happiness and wealth, those who come to Kaishan Temple also donate some merits here and ask for a wish to take with them. Write down your wishes on it and tie it around the Buddha Hall. At the end of the day, a long red silk ribbon is next to the entire Buddha Hall, which is prosperous. On the day of the temple fair, pilgrims and tourists from inside and outside the district and even Southeast Asia gather in Kaishan Temple, reaching tens of thousands of people. The temple is filled with incense and the sound of wooden fish; outside the temple, people are bustling and shoulder to shoulder, with folk song meetings and colorful tunes, and the scene is spectacular. The century-old banyan tree next to Kaishan Temple is a natural stage for performing colorful tunes at the Kaishan Temple Fair. Liucheng is known as the "Colored Tune Nest". People love to watch and perform Caidiao. The gongs and drums sounded, and the actors danced. As soon as they appeared, they won the applause of the audience. The humorous lyrics and pleasant singing triggered bursts of laughter and made everyone really enjoy the drama. In addition to performing Caidiao, there is also a folk song king who sings folk songs while giving everyone amulets. The lyrics are easy to come by, full of blessings. There are also many people singing folk songs in pairs. These are mainly ordinary people around. A group of people stand or sit in the fields around the temple, and sing in pairs after getting ready. Men and women sing folk songs to each other separately, and the scene is lively, conveying the spirit of conveying feelings and making friends with songs. The "lighting incense" activity is the first activity of the Kaishan Temple Fair. The incense lighting ceremony starts at more than 11 o'clock the night before. Good men and women, tourists and passers-by, braved the drizzle, and in the air filled with Buddhist smoke, everyone held the lit giant incense in both hands and stood in front of the Kaishan Temple in order. Three giant incense sticks are lit at the same time, and people put their hands together and pray silently, wishing for a smooth and healthy new year. In addition to enjoying the special folk performances, you can also taste delicious local snacks at the temple fair. The most famous is the Liucheng Yunpian Cake, which was listed as a tribute during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Yunpian Cake is snow-white in color, evenly thick and thin, soft and elastic, sweet and melts in the mouth, which can increase appetite, help digestion and supplement human nutrition. The prosperity of mountain temple fairs has formed a long commercial and tourist street on the nearby rural roads, with a wide variety of goods, from wild honey produced by farmers to Chinese herbal medicines, from local specialties to high-tech communication products. In addition to praying to gods and Buddhas, people can enjoy buying the goods they like. Information source: Guangxi Festival Records Information source: Guangxi Festival Records