Pineapple Festival

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As my students say, "Long, long ago, there was a man." Depending on who you talk to, the next part will either be that he liked pineapples, brought pineapples, planted pineapples, or was from the Kingdom of Pineapples (Magadha). No matter, he was a foreigner who came to China during the Tang dynasty and he landed ashore in Guangzhou. Then he left. And somehow, chickens are involved. There's a delightful gem of a write-up explaining this with more detail, though it is a bit Chinglishy. http://www.hewiki.com/view/574831.htm

Every year the temple still holds a Pineapple Festival (with chickens) and this year a friend and I decided to check it out. It's one of the biggest festivals in Guangzhou--we mustn't miss out! We took the metro to the far eastern edge of the city (well, as far as the metro goes) and then took a bus, following the crowds of people carrying gold and red pineapples and chickens. We bought our tickets and went in.

People came in droves to make offerings to the gods. I've been to a lot of temples my five years in China, and this was the most money I've ever seen at one. My friend agreed with this assessment. After touring the lovely grounds, we set out to find snacks. Zongzi (steamed rice filled with various goodies, wrapped in banana leaves) were everywhere and these even had pineapple in them! Usually they're only the size of one's palm, but some of them were nearly as big as my head! There was also dried fruit and lots of other trinkets to buy--some people even gave demonstrations like you see on TV to show off the wonders of the knife or food product.

We wandered through the kitsch and eventually found our way to the true food area. We opted for pineapple "drink" and sat down to rest from the heat. Around us, people stuffed their faces with a variety of street foods and some napped on picnic tables. So far, it was the warmest day of the year and a bit unexpected and premature.

We left after another hour to find real food before heading home.

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Photos

I made a new friend.
This photo has nothing to do with the story, really, but it makes me smile.

Shiny trinkets for sale!
Everyone bought one.

Zongzi for sale!
But these are filled with pineapple and pork, amongst other, more traditional fillings.

Zongzi
They're EVERYWHERE

Typical China
Pretty red lanterns, some new trees, factory

Shiny trinkets for sale!
Too much red and gold for my taste.

The NanHaiShen temple
Look at the money wedged in as an offering.

Lots of offerings here
The NanHaiShen temple

This is the most I've ever seen.
The NanHaiShen temple