2,680-Person Parade Transforms into a "Moving Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum" – 2026 Chaozhou Qinglong Temple Fair Grandly Held

On March 12 (the 24th day of the first lunar month), the 2026 Chaozhou Qinglong Temple Fair Intangible Cultural Heritage Parade was held in grand style. A procession stretching two kilometers and comprising 2,680 participants wound through the city during the approximately five-hour extravaganza. Cries of "Xing a! Shun a!" (roughly meaning "Prosperity! Good fortune!") rose one after another, voicing the burning nostalgia of Chaozhou natives at home and abroad while conveying heartfelt wishes for the prosperity of family and the nation.

Chaozhou Big Drum Music

Reportedly, this year's Qinglong Temple Fair attracted 134 Chaozhou associations and business delegations from both home and abroad to return for the parade, with 1,260 overseas Chinese guests invited as spectators. The procession resembled a "moving museum of intangible cultural heritage," stringing together 28 intangible cultural heritage items—including the Yingge Dance, Buma Dance, Chaozhou Opera, and Chaozhou Big Drum Music—performed by 18 troupes into a flowing cultural tableau, showcasing the unique vitality of Chaozhou as a "City of Living Intangible Cultural Heritage."

Yingge Dance

Buma Dance

Huang Zaiqiang, who had rushed back from Malaysia, walked in the procession pushing his elderly father in a wheelchair, his face beaming with joy. "Dad is 82 years old, but he still insisted on returning to Chaozhou to participate in the Qinglong Temple Fair. It's really lively, and today he is very happy," Huang said. This parade is not merely a folk carnival; it is a ritual for overseas Chaozhou people journeying back to their ancestral home, acting as an important bond through which they express their nostalgia and reconnect with their roots.

Event Scene

For the Chaozhou Music Club of Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, more than 50 members beat the Chaozhou Big Drums, playing the hometown sounds embedded in their memories. Troupe leader Shen Hanzhong stated excitedly, "We're not here to perform; we're here to come home, to report our training achievements to our hometown, and to extend greetings to our fellow folks!" The group regularly rehearses Chaozhou Opera and Big Drum Music in Malaysia, using this as a means to connect with their heritage and pass on Chaozhou culture abroad from generation to generation.

Event Scene

This year, several foreign friends also appeared within the procession. Maximus Ogbonna, Honorary Chairman of the Nigerian Community and the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce in China, participated in the Qinglong Temple Fair Intangible Cultural Heritage Parade for the first time. He exclaimed excitedly that the intangible cultural heritage displays were "spectacular" and declared, "I'll come back again next year!"

Event Scene

The Qinglong Temple Fair is not only a vibrant folk activity but also a grand feast of traditional Chinese culture shared by the Chaozhou people and the world. Within the parade, intangible cultural heritage was transmitted vividly in motion, and cultural confidence was displayed to the fullest. The overseas Chaozhou contingents and local performance troupes intermingled as they moved forward; tradition and modernity converged in this moment, while nostalgia and culture resonated in harmony. (Text by Zhu Xiao; Photos by Chen Hongwen, Huang Chunsheng, and Zhuang Yuan)