The 30th Jiuhua Mountain Temple Fair will be held from September 1st to 30th 2012 in Anhui province. Buddhist activities, tourist activities and recreational activities are scheduled to host during the event.
Buddhist activities include the Earth Store Sutra Chanting, Land-water Dharma Assembly, and Yulanpen Rites (rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased), to name a few. Tourist activities include Jiuhua Mountain tourist souvenirs and Buddhist supplies exhibition, 1,000 pilgrims attend temple fair and worship Earth Store Bodhisattva, and 10,000 tourists visit the Incarnation Pagoda of Earth Store Bodhisattva. While recreational activities have Dragon Lanterns Show, artistic performance and culture shows.
The Jiuhua Mountain temple fair can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Every year on July 30 of the lunar calendar, believers and pilgrims from around the world would go on a pilgrimage to offer incenses and to worship the pagoda as well as the Heavenly Terrace. Meanwhile, many villagers and craftsmen also took the occasion to do business whilst folk artists gave performances, which has gradually shaped the traditional Jiuhua Mountain temple fair.