Yuqitang Temple Fair, also known as "Big Candle Temple Fair", is a local fair in Pinghu. Every year in the ninth month of the lunar calendar and the Spring Festival, Yuqitang in Xindai Town, Pinghu, holds a fair in the Big Candle Temple to offer sacrifices and pray for blessings. This custom has a history of more than 800 years. Yu Yunfu, a Qing Dynasty poet, once wrote a poem praising the grand occasion of the temple fair: "The temple points to Yuqi six miles away, and the autumn comes to report the gathering of dust. The fields are full of lotus torches, and the ten-foot-high light of the fire tree is shaking." The Big Candle Temple, also known as "Liu Gong Temple". It is said that the statue of Liu Qi, a famous general who fought against the Jin Dynasty in the Southern Song Dynasty, is enshrined in the temple. In the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, Liu Qi led his troops to garrison in Yuqitang, guarding the southeastern metropolis Guangchen City, quelling banditry, and allowing the people to live and work in peace. Later, the people of Yuqitang regarded Liu Qi as a patron saint, built a temple and statues for sacrifice, hoping to live a stable and happy life. For more than 800 years, during the Double Ninth Festival and the Spring Festival every year, local people would use big candles to pay tribute to General Liu, and invite theatrical troupes to perform community plays for three days. The temple fair was very popular and attracted many pilgrims. In 1946, a businessman named Hu from Shanghai presented a pair of big candles weighing 150 kilograms, and the people called Liu Gong Temple the "Big Candle Temple". In 1948, the Big Candle Temple was no longer popular. In 1997, Liu Gong Temple built the Yuxiang Opera Garden and invited the Zhejiang Peking Opera Troupe and the famous Yue Opera actor Wang Wenjuan to perform. The audience reached 30,000 people, and the Big Candle Temple once again saw a scene of great popularity. Big candles can be said to be a feature of the temple fair. The temple fair originally had the custom of offering big candles. After entering the 21st century, with the development of the economy and the improvement of people's living standards, the big candles continued to grow larger and heavier. On October 18, 2004, a pair of big candles presented by pilgrims weighed 1,259 kilograms and were included in the Guinness World Records. At present, there are several pairs of large candles in the temple, each pair is tall and straight, strong and exquisite, with unique charm. The large candle temple fair has a series of folk activities with local characteristics. The main activities during the temple fair include inviting candles, welcoming candles, painting and writing inscriptions, lighting candles, worshiping and performing dramas. Inviting candles. The people of Yuqitang Village and nearby Xingguang, Liqun, Hongyi, Xiuxi, Xingta and Shanyang in Jinshan District, Shanghai, hold candle invitation activities every year. Each area elects an incense master to contact the production and donation of large candles. Welcoming candles. The production of large candles is completed in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, and the fourth day of September is the day to welcome candles. Liugong Temple sends people with incense masters from all over the country, holding up four green, red, yellow and blue flags, and beating cymbals and flat drums to welcome the candles back. Painting and writing inscriptions. From the fifth to the seventh day of September, old artists are invited to paint and write inscriptions for the giant candles. When painting inscriptions, the old artist must first bathe and burn incense, kowtow to General Liu, and then write auspicious poems that reflect the people's voice and wishes on the giant candle, and paint a golden dragon or a colorful double dragon playing with a pearl on the bright red background. Lighting candles, worshiping and performing plays. The eighth day of the ninth lunar month is General Liu's birthday, so the eighth and ninth days of the ninth lunar month are the candle-lighting days, and the candle-lighting time is arranged by the temple. When lighting the candles, the incense master brings the people who have contributed funds to the temple to light candles and make wishes. First light the big candle, then the auxiliary candle. From the eighth to the tenth day of the eighth lunar month, a worship ceremony is held after lighting the candles. The light of the big candle silently shows solemnity and majesty. Good men and women kneel and make wishes in front of the big candle and the statue of General Liu. From the eighth to the tenth day of the ninth lunar month, plays are performed for three days, day and night. In 1997, the Yuxiang Opera House was built locally, and the temple fair has become an important place for local people to watch plays and have fun and enrich their lives. Yuqitang Temple Fair is included in the second batch of Jiaxing City's intangible cultural heritage list. Information source: Jiaxing Library Information source: Jiaxing Library