
The temple fair in Chang'an
ZHANG Huancai • 2024
During Liu Bang’s rise to power, his general Ji Xin died saving him and was later honored as the Chief Deity of Thirteen City Gods, overseeing the underworld. Each year on the eighth day of the second lunar month, grand temple fairs in Wangqu, Chang’an celebrate with drums, acrobatics, and opera.
AWARDS & FESTIVALS
2024 HiShorts! Film Festival, Xia Men
CAST & CREW
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

ZHANG Huancai
Director
This film was shot with footage from 2006.More than a decade later, when I returned to film again, I found that the local authorities had already banned the temple fair’s drum competition under the pretext of maintaining public order. Vendors who once surrounded the temple were driven several miles away, and vehicles were no longer allowed to enter the area.The temple fair was no longer as lively as it once was. The bustling scenes of the Thirteen City God Temple had become a thing of the past.I am grateful that I documented the fair back then — it has now become part of its history.