The Nanjing Mazu Temple Fair has been in and out of fashion since the Ming Dynasty. The Mazu Temple Fair is mainly held around the birthday of Mazu on the 23rd day of the third lunar month in spring every year. It is an important folk cultural activity in Nanjing. Because it incorporates the connotation of ancient capital culture and folk culture, it shows a different cultural charm from the Mazu temple activities in coastal areas. There is a proverb circulating among the people in Nanjing and surrounding areas that "On the 23rd day of the third lunar month, the turtle (Bishi) crawls to Xiaguan." Around the 23rd day of the third lunar month every year, people gather in Xiaguan to worship Tianfei and pray for peace, which gradually evolved into a temple fair integrating cultural and commercial activities. After 1899, Nanjing opened its port to the outside world, and the Mazu Temple Fair flourished for a time. Later, due to war, the temple fair was intermittent. The Mazu Temple is an indispensable part of the Mazu Temple Fair. Its architectural style and layout are different from those of temples of other religions. The bell tower, drum tower, stage, dressing building, sleeping hall, etc. are very unique. The folk arts performed in the Mazu temple fair mainly include stilts, big streamers, middle streamers, treasure chariots, catching lanterns and stoves, incense reception, big hall meetings, single and double umbrella yangko, flying forks, ten busy things, Qingjia meeting, five tigers hitting boxes, Zhuangshou Eight Immortals, Crane Age Stilts, Baoding meeting, lotus fall, Taishi meeting, door streamers, assorted juggling, acrobatics competition, hundreds of flowers fighting for beauty, climbing poles, etc., as well as other entertainment, singing and dancing, and juggling projects. Many props, costumes, paper-cuts, diabolos, knots, carvings, and agricultural and sideline products, handicrafts, common agricultural tools, and daily sundries are sold and traded throughout the fair, making the activities rich and colorful. During the temple fair, there will be grand activities to worship Mazu, the main contents of which are: visiting the Mazu temple and offering incense, praying for blessings and three offerings, welcoming the gods, the first offering, the second offering, the final offering, and the farewell ceremony. Through this sacrificial platform, the general public in Nanjing worships the Goddess of Heaven to bless the safety of the whole family, good weather, good harvest, and peace in the world. At the same time, through folk art performances, handicrafts, the exchange of daily necessities and various sacrificial methods, a beautiful artistic conception of praying for happiness is created. The Mazu Temple Fair constantly pushes folk art activities and folk commercial activities to a new level, making it the most influential folk cultural and commercial activity. The Nanjing Mazu Temple Fair has a positive impact on promoting Mazu folk culture, enriching the cultural connotation of the ancient capital Nanjing, strengthening cultural exchanges and friendly exchanges at home and abroad, especially across the Taiwan Straits, and building a harmonious society. In 2005, in order to commemorate the 600th anniversary of Zheng He's voyage to the West, Nanjing City rebuilt the Tianfei Palace. In order to protect the intangible cultural heritage, the Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Culture, the Tourism Bureau and the Xiaguan District Government began to resume the Mazu Temple Fair the year after the completion of the Tianfei Palace. The Mazu Temple Fair is held once a year and is widely welcomed by all sectors of society. In 2007, the Mazu Temple Fair was included in the first batch of Jiangsu Province's Intangible Cultural Heritage List by the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government.