Jinchun Temple Fair, also called Yongchang Temple Fair, is held between the seventh and ninth day of the fourth lunar month each year at places of Jinchun Village, Tangqiao Town, and Zhangjiagang City. The temple fair centers around Jinchun Village and stretches to Haiyu Town of Changshu city in the east, Xieqiao Town and Dayi Town in the south, Fenghuang Town in the west, and Miaoqiao and Xiyang in the north, with a total area of about 40 square kilometers. Jinchun temple fair came into being in the Song Dynasty, which was originally held to celebrate the Buddha's birthday that fell on the 8th Day of the fourth lunar month of the year. At the beginning, Jinchun temple fair was mainly funded by the country gentlemen including the Jin Family and other village communities. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the rising wealth and fame of Jin Family, the Jinchun Village temple fair becomes even more ceremonious. It includes not only Buddhism rites such as the bathing of Buddha, but also special events like offering sacrifices to Jin Qi, a local hero who fought against Japanese Pirate's Invasions in the Ming Dynasty. As the fair is a good opportunity to show respect to and memory of the ancestors, The Jin family was proactive in organizing it, which resonated with the local people’s needs of worshiping heroes, thus enabling the fair to develop rapidly. Jinchun temple fair integrated the doctrines of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism into the folk worship activities, which not only meets the aesthetic pleasure of the public but also educates the masses with charitable deeds in Buddhist and Taoist Stories, and implants in them the Confucian idea of serving one country with unreserved loyalty. After it evolves from a mere religious rite into a large-scale folk gathering, Jinchun temple fair has become a valuable model for people study sciences like folklore, religion, and literature.
Inheritor of National Intangible Cultural Heritage Jinchun Temple Fair: none.
