About Qingdao Sifang's Sugar Ball Fair...

Time: January 16 to January 18

Place: Haiyunan

Sugar Ball Festival's origin: Qingdao Sifang village original large soil nunnery, worship Guanyin Daishi, also known as the old mother of Goddess of Mercy Temple, later known as the Haiyunan, Qingdao, after the establishment of the city, the temple in front of the street is called Haiyunjie, was once the Sifang a commercial center. Haiyunan belongs to the Huashan School of Taoism. Taiping Road Tianhou Gong is Laoshan Taiqing Palace built in the city's lower courtyard, Haiyunan is Laoshan Shenqing Palace in the city's lower courtyard. Sifang area has factories and fishermen, Haiyunan enshrined a lot of God, Guanyin outside of Guan Gong, the Dragon King, Bi Gan, Luban, Taishang Laojun. On the 16th day of the first month, there is a temple fair. It is said that because it is the first big tide day after the New Year, the fishermen start to go out to the sea after the New Year on this day, and use the red candy ball as a good luck charm, and there are a lot of people selling and buying the candy balls, which is called the "Candy Ball Fair". In the past 20 years, Haiyunan has been restored, and the Sugar Ball Festival has become a large-scale folk temple fair known far and wide. Many of the vendors come from foreign countries and even provinces. After the candy ball fair, Qingdao people's "year" is over.

Qingdao Haiyunan Sugar Ball Ming Dynasty, when there is, then Hou Haiyun I incense, and therefore set the annual first month of the lunar calendar on the sixteenth day, that is, the new year in the first big tide for the temple fair on the day. Whenever the temple fair, the incense is more prosperous, at the same time the temple before the temple more singing, donkey, stilt walkers, running dry boat and other recreational activities, food and beverage, toys vendors also have gathered, which sells sugar balls (Beijing called "sugar gourd") is particularly large, with the mountain plant, soft jujube, yam, tangerine and other made of sugar balls, have to go on the market, hawking competition, each presenting a special feature. After a long time, the masses will be called Haiyunan Temple Fair for the sugar ball fair.

Previously, it was an informal folk gathering 1990 organized the first sugar ball and sugar ball art competition, since then, every year held a sugar ball. Every year, the number of people to the meeting are up to more than 600,000, set up more than 3,300 stalls, including sugar ball stalls more than 2,200, the total transaction amounted to more than 700,000 yuan.

In the sugar ball modeling contest, dragons, phoenixes, flowers, extra-large long strings, etc., a variety of fancy, by the Chinese and foreign tourists appreciate.