From Jan 20th to Feb 8th, the second Shanxi Lunar New Year Goods Festival was held at the China Taiyuan Coal Transaction Center.

A feast for foodies

A variety kinds of foods are exhibited and sold at the second Shanxi Lunar New Year Goods Festival.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The show's vast array of food had everyone dazed. As people entered the food pavilion, they were greeted by smiling faces from the exhibitors who were encouraging them to "Just have a try."

"I have strolled around all of the booths and I'm almost full now", someone told the reporter. "I'm here for the food. I bought a bag of tea sugar last year and it tasted so good. But I couldn't find any later, so if I see some here I will buy many more bags and store it", said Li Bin, a citizen from Taiyuan.

Folk culture: an eye catcher

Not only were they sold as great New Year gifts, but people enjoyed the performances of Shanxi’s unique intangible cultural heritages of shadow puppets and dough modeling. In addition, there was a show that lasted nine days, which was performed by artists from art troupes including the Shanxi Jin Theater.

At the shadow puppet booth, Shi Jinpin, an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage, was making shadow puppets.

Folk culture performance is an eye catcher at the festival. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"These are all made from cattle hide and it takes five hours to finish one puppet. You can put it under the light to examine the quality. They are actually the ancestors of our modern day films," Shi said.

A visitor nicknamed Zhang told a journalist, "These intangible cultural heritage items are interesting and this is the first time I have ever seen a shadow puppet in the making".

A girl is attracted by a shadow play puppet. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Convenient services

China Taiyuan Coal Transaction Center had prepared three convenient services for the shoppers, including free minibus shuttles, shopping trolleys at the center and flat carts. These measures made it much easier for the citizens to explore, to shop and to enjoy themselves.

Edited by Michael Thai