The Lunar New Year Fair ( zh, t=年宵市場), also known as the flower market ( zh, t=花市), is a type of fair held annually a few days before Lunar New Year in Chinese New Year markets in China. These fairs are primarily practiced by the

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

, and spread with Cantonese immigration.

History

The Lunar New Year Fair's history can be traced back to the

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was th ...

age of the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

. By this time, peasants sold flowers in markets south of the

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...

. These ancient flower markets were held every day at no fixed location. In the 1860s, the flower markets began to be held only during Lunar New Year's Eve. A particularly big fair was held in 1919. Shortly after the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

was founded in 1949, many Cantonese people immigrated to Hong Kong from Guangzhou and other Pearl River Delta areas, taking the market tradition with them. It later spread overseas.

Lunar New Year Fair in different cities

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, fairs are held in various locations, notably

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

and Fa Hui Park. These fairs gather hundreds of stalls for various goods. Half of the area sells auspicious flowering plants like narcissus, peony, chrysanthemum,

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...

and fruit plants like

mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

. The other half sells dry goods for Chinese New Year. The fairs draw many visitors as part of the custom of ''hang nin siu'' (行年宵, literally: walk the year night) or ''hang fa shi'' (行花市, literally: walk the flower market). The crowd peaks at a few hours before and after midnight of New Year's Day. Stall tenders try to sell off all their stocks in these few hours before the fair closes, because surplus flowers are normally destroyed (or left to charitable organisations). In the 2000s youths from various youth organisations, secondary schools and universities increasingly began operating stalls of their own. For example, in 2007, students from various schools set up stalls to sell many special products which are related to the pig, for example Pig Tissue Holder, Fatty Pork Chop Scarf, etc. Traditionally, the

Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...

visited the fair annually, usually in Victoria Park. The

Chief Executive of Hong Kong The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of ...

continues this tradition.

Locations in 2006

In 2006, fairs were held in: *

, Causeway Bay * Fa Hui Park, Sham Shui Po * Cheung Sha Wan Playground, Sham Shui Po * Kai Tak East Playground, Wong Tai Sin * Kwun Tong Recreation Ground, Kwun Tong * Sha Tsui Road Playground, Tsuen Wan * Kwai Chung Sports Ground, Kwai Tsing * Shek Pai Tau Playground, Tuen Mun * Pedestrian Mall Opposite Yuen Long Public Swimming Pool and On Hing Playground, Yuen Long * Shek Wu Hui Playground, North District * Tin Hau Temple Fung Shui Square, Tai Po * Yuen Wo Playground, Sha Tin * Man Yee Playground, Sai Kung * Po Hong Park, Tseung Kwan O

Locations in 2007

In 2007, fairs were held in: * Victoria Park on Hong Kong Island * Fa Hui Park, Cheung Sha Wan Playground, Morse Park and Kwun Tong Recreation Ground in Kowloon * Sha Tsui Road Playground in Tsuen Wan * Kwai Chung Sports Ground * the open space at the Tin Hau Temple in Tuen Mun * Tung Tau Industrial Area Playground in Yuen Long * Shek Wu Hui Playground in North District * Tin Hau Temple Fung Shui Square in Tai Po * Yuen Wo Playground in Sha Tin * Man Yee Playground in Sai Kung * Po Hong Park in Tseung Kwan O

Guangzhou

Guangzhou is said to be the source of the Lunar New Year Fair. During the rule of the PRC, the Lunar New Year Fair was interrupted only once, for a few years during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

. Guangzhou's fair is held 3 days before Lunar New Year's Eve. It sells

New Year Tree New Year trees are decorated trees similar to Christmas trees that are displayed to specifically celebrate the New Year. They should not be confused with the practice of leaving up a Christmas tree until after New Year's Day (traditionally until ...

s and other goods. In

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, there is at least one fair in each

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

, which became a custom since the 1960s. The origin of such fairs can be traced back to the

, although official records of the Lunar New Year Fairs in Canton are found first in the 1920s, when the city was under the rule of the Republic of China. The official name for the fair in Guangzhou is "flower market" (); however, the locals tend to use the term flower street (), referring to the fact that the fairs in Guangzhou are held on streets that are available for vehicles on normal days but turned into pedestrian zones during the days of the fair.

References

External links

Auction of stalls by HK government
{{Guangdong topics Festivals in Hong Kong Festivals in China Cantonese culture