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Intoxicating fun at forest festival
September 20, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CHONGMING'S Forest Festival is underway, featuring orchestra and rock concerts, bicycling, a food festival, famous white spirit, oranges, hairy crabs and cricket fighting. Fei Lai reports.
Visitors are pouring into scenic Chongming Island for the annual Forest Festival called "Green Chongming, Ecological Tour."
As part of the Shanghai Tourism Festival, visitors can participate in a range of special events through the end of October.
This is the 14th year of the Forest Festival that now attracts around 60,000 visitors a day.
Billed as "a feast," the 40 days of activities include a kick-off concert at Dongping National Forest Park, a food festival, fishing contest, white spirit festival and hairy crabs festival. Luscious oranges are ripe and the island is filled with produce and specialty crops.
The opening ceremony and concert features Peking Opera, acrobatics, a team of popping dancers, a violin performance and "China's Got Talent" contestant Gao Yifeng, a singer.
"It merges modernity, energy, art and grassroots culture and showcases the folk custom of Chongming," says Zhang Lixin, deputy director of the Chongming Tourism Bureau. "We'd like to create zero-distance with our audience."
Music is a highlight of the Chongming festivities. For the first time, an outdoor rock concert will be held at Dongping Forest Park, a place for barbecue, food, beer and fun.
Meanwhile, at Sanmin Culture Village, visitors can enjoy folk dancing, a nighttime bonfire party, open-air cinema and riddle guessing.
The Shanghai Tourism Festival is known for parades with marchers from around the world and floats depicting the culture of different countries and regions.
This year, the floats from the opening of the Shanghai Tourism Festival will be shown in Chongming at Dongping Forest Park during the National Day holiday which begins on October 1.
Chongming's own colorful float is designed to promote eco-tourism on the island.
Cycling is always popular in Chongming in good weather, and now is a perfect season for bicycling around the green island with its fields, farms, forests and seashore.
In May, the county government hosted the Tour of Chongming Island 2011 and the UCI Women's Road World Cup.
During the Forest Festival, cycling is a way to connect family and friends. Visitors can stop for fruit picking or fishing along the way.
To meet the big influx of visitors, the local government has built new facilities. To date, 20,000 restaurant seats have been added for group dining, with 7,000 more beds in various types of accommodation and 4,800 parking places.
In addition, six supermarkets will be dedicated to only local specialties. Tourists can buy sorghum sugar, white spirit, hairy crabs, white beans, Chongimng cabbage, asparagus and other agricultural products.
In general, Chongming can accommodate 50,000 to 80,000 visitors per day.
Event Schedule
Here are some of the events, activities and festivals on offer through the end of October.
Chongming Forest Concert
Date: September 23-24
Venue: Dongping National Forest Park
Activities: The venue can accommodate 60,000 people, who can sit, stand, lie on the grass or put up a tent. More than 10 rock bands will perform in succession. Visitors can buy beer and snacks in a food area.
Wetland Culture Festival
Date: Through September 28
Venue: Xisha Wetland
Activities: The tall wetland grasses create a maze where visitors can test their memory. If they can find the exit within 15 minutes, they win a gift. It costs 20 yuan (US$3.13) per person to wander around the maze. Vendors sell souvenirs made of reeds.
Mingzhu Lake Fishing Festival
Date: September 28-October 15
Venue: Mingzhu Lake Park
Activities: Visitors can fish for hairy crabs in designated areas; it costs 60 yuan per person for 30 minutes. There's also net fishing. Each day eight to 16 visitors will be invited to fish with nets and keep their catch - they can take it home for dinner or have it cooked at a local eatery.
White Spirit Festival
Date: September 28-October 28
Venue: Qianwei Village
Activities: Home-distilled Chongming white spirit (lao baijiu) made from sorghum and Chongming mi jiu (rice wine) made from glutinous rice have always been among the biggest attractions of the Forest Festival. The sorghum spirit is sweet-sour and tasty. Though it's said to be low in alcohol, it also packs a pleasing punch. At Qianwei Village, almost every family brews their own spirit. It's served to guests from afar and it's a must on special occasions, such as weddings, birthdays and family reunions. A competition will be held for the 10 best female cooks and the best distiller of white spirit.
Yingdong Fishing Happiness Festival
Date: Through October 30
Venue: Yingdong Village
Activities: There are all kinds of fishing and boating activities. Locals share their fishing culture. It offers barbecues, goat fights and cock fights.
Gao Family Ecological Park's Low-Carbon Tour
Date: Through October 30
Venue: Gao Family Ecological Park
Activities: Visitors can enjoy role-play games, fishing, fruit picking, kite flying and learning about various types of trees that absorb carbon dioxide.
Visitors are pouring into scenic Chongming Island for the annual Forest Festival called "Green Chongming, Ecological Tour."
As part of the Shanghai Tourism Festival, visitors can participate in a range of special events through the end of October.
This is the 14th year of the Forest Festival that now attracts around 60,000 visitors a day.
Billed as "a feast," the 40 days of activities include a kick-off concert at Dongping National Forest Park, a food festival, fishing contest, white spirit festival and hairy crabs festival. Luscious oranges are ripe and the island is filled with produce and specialty crops.
The opening ceremony and concert features Peking Opera, acrobatics, a team of popping dancers, a violin performance and "China's Got Talent" contestant Gao Yifeng, a singer.
"It merges modernity, energy, art and grassroots culture and showcases the folk custom of Chongming," says Zhang Lixin, deputy director of the Chongming Tourism Bureau. "We'd like to create zero-distance with our audience."
Music is a highlight of the Chongming festivities. For the first time, an outdoor rock concert will be held at Dongping Forest Park, a place for barbecue, food, beer and fun.
Meanwhile, at Sanmin Culture Village, visitors can enjoy folk dancing, a nighttime bonfire party, open-air cinema and riddle guessing.
The Shanghai Tourism Festival is known for parades with marchers from around the world and floats depicting the culture of different countries and regions.
This year, the floats from the opening of the Shanghai Tourism Festival will be shown in Chongming at Dongping Forest Park during the National Day holiday which begins on October 1.
Chongming's own colorful float is designed to promote eco-tourism on the island.
Cycling is always popular in Chongming in good weather, and now is a perfect season for bicycling around the green island with its fields, farms, forests and seashore.
In May, the county government hosted the Tour of Chongming Island 2011 and the UCI Women's Road World Cup.
During the Forest Festival, cycling is a way to connect family and friends. Visitors can stop for fruit picking or fishing along the way.
To meet the big influx of visitors, the local government has built new facilities. To date, 20,000 restaurant seats have been added for group dining, with 7,000 more beds in various types of accommodation and 4,800 parking places.
In addition, six supermarkets will be dedicated to only local specialties. Tourists can buy sorghum sugar, white spirit, hairy crabs, white beans, Chongimng cabbage, asparagus and other agricultural products.
In general, Chongming can accommodate 50,000 to 80,000 visitors per day.
Event Schedule
Here are some of the events, activities and festivals on offer through the end of October.
Chongming Forest Concert
Date: September 23-24
Venue: Dongping National Forest Park
Activities: The venue can accommodate 60,000 people, who can sit, stand, lie on the grass or put up a tent. More than 10 rock bands will perform in succession. Visitors can buy beer and snacks in a food area.
Wetland Culture Festival
Date: Through September 28
Venue: Xisha Wetland
Activities: The tall wetland grasses create a maze where visitors can test their memory. If they can find the exit within 15 minutes, they win a gift. It costs 20 yuan (US$3.13) per person to wander around the maze. Vendors sell souvenirs made of reeds.
Mingzhu Lake Fishing Festival
Date: September 28-October 15
Venue: Mingzhu Lake Park
Activities: Visitors can fish for hairy crabs in designated areas; it costs 60 yuan per person for 30 minutes. There's also net fishing. Each day eight to 16 visitors will be invited to fish with nets and keep their catch - they can take it home for dinner or have it cooked at a local eatery.
White Spirit Festival
Date: September 28-October 28
Venue: Qianwei Village
Activities: Home-distilled Chongming white spirit (lao baijiu) made from sorghum and Chongming mi jiu (rice wine) made from glutinous rice have always been among the biggest attractions of the Forest Festival. The sorghum spirit is sweet-sour and tasty. Though it's said to be low in alcohol, it also packs a pleasing punch. At Qianwei Village, almost every family brews their own spirit. It's served to guests from afar and it's a must on special occasions, such as weddings, birthdays and family reunions. A competition will be held for the 10 best female cooks and the best distiller of white spirit.
Yingdong Fishing Happiness Festival
Date: Through October 30
Venue: Yingdong Village
Activities: There are all kinds of fishing and boating activities. Locals share their fishing culture. It offers barbecues, goat fights and cock fights.
Gao Family Ecological Park's Low-Carbon Tour
Date: Through October 30
Venue: Gao Family Ecological Park
Activities: Visitors can enjoy role-play games, fishing, fruit picking, kite flying and learning about various types of trees that absorb carbon dioxide.
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