Temple fairs are a major attraction for Chinese during the Spring Festival. But a recent experience at two such fairs was quite an eye-opener.

On the second day of the lunar New Year, we took our 4-year-old son to Shijingshan Recreation Park in western Beijing for its famed temple fair whose grand parade is supposed to have many foreign acts.

But like other such fairs in the metropolis, we found it overwhelmingly commercial with hardly a trace of the real essence of the Spring Festival.

After inching our way into the parking lot and squeezing our tiny car between two trees, we were bewildered by the crowds inside the park. Most stalls sold masks, balloons and other toys. The few that had traditional toys drew hardly any attention.

Every game attracted a queue that wound around for 100 m, despite the biting cold.

We took our son to the only game safe for young children. It was wonderful to sit in a huge coffee cup and whirl around, and my son seemed less dizzy than I. But the happiness lasted just 5 minutes and costed 20 yuan ($2.94).

When the parade finally began, we were disappointed to see only a few foreign faces. The actors seemed rather miserable in their flimsy costumes and were besieged by eager spectators seeking photographs with them.

We did get a taste of a traditional temple fair, but it was in our son's kindergarten just before the holidays. It was well organized and even taught the children a few things about real life.

Each child was given four strips of red paper - a sort of coupon - for small gifts. Besides providing the children with a glimpse into traditional culture, the school also showed them the value of money.

My son wanted two "pa pa quan", a shiny ruler-sized stick that one can click around one's wrist. Each needed two coupons, yet one of our four coupons was marked with a butterfly, so that entitled him to a string of candied haws. It took me some time to explain this to my son, who reluctantly accepted one stick. Thankfully, my husband was good at solving the lantern riddles and earned quite a few extra coupons, with which my son got more sticks and other small gifts.

Chewing the sweet and sour candied haws, we went outdoors for the performance. The kindergarten chief wished everyone a happy Spring Festival and the older children staged a merry dance.

The young teachers put up the best show. A charming lady in a traditional Chinese coat led the team. She was like a real professional.

My son's head teacher, who is about 18, reminds me of a cute mouse when she smiles but she always keeps the children in good order. She surprised us all.

She carried a paper donkey on her waist and her head was covered in a piece of red gauze - she was playing a bride returning home after the wedding. Leading the donkey was the "groom", a slender teacher whose round hat kept falling off during the dance.

What had everyone bursting into laughter was another teacher who puffed on a long pipe and whipped the donkey's rear with a loud "pong"! The big black dot on her lip showed she was playing the rural matchmaker.

The parents too were invited to display their talents and this drew many heavily dressed housewives and white-collared men to put on impromptu dragon and lion dances.

Bright smiles lit up everyone's face. It was cold, but my heart was warm with good wishes for the new year.

(China Daily 02/10/2009 page20)