Crowds browse festive stalls at the Longfusi New Year Market in Beijing during the 2026 Spring Festival holiday. Photo: IC PHOTO

On Feb. 10, 2026, just ahead of this year’s Spring Festival, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping visited the Longfusi historic area in Beijing’s Dongcheng District, where the 2026 Longfusi New Year Market was underway. During the subsequent holiday, the neighborhood became a popular destination for locals and tourists seeking to enjoy the cultural texture of old Beijing and experience the unique blend of tradition and modernity. On the first day of the Chinese New Year, CSST visited Longfusi—an area steeped in the collective memory of generations of Beijingers—to rediscover its festive charm and observe the renewed vitality of this historic area.

First constructed in 1452, Longfusi served as an imperial temple during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties. Beginning in the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, it hosted regular monthly markets that drew merchants from across the capital and offered a dazzling array of goods. Over time, it became one of Beijing’s most renowned temple fairs, celebrated as the “best of all markets.”

Although the main temple was destroyed by fire in 1901, the commercial and cultural traditions that had grown up around it endured for centuries. From the Dongsi People’s Market in the early years of the PRC to the Longfusi Building renovated in the 1980s, the area has long remained an important commercial hub in Beijing. In recent years, as preservation and urban renewal efforts have advanced, this time-honored block has retained its historical fabric while being infused with fresh energy. Today, established brands and new business formats thrive side by side.

This year’s New Year Market offered a vivid tableau of old and new converging. Red lanterns hung above dense crowds, while vendors’ calls mingled with laughter in the winter air. At the Fanlihua booth, visitors clustered around a display of this traditional craft, now recognized as an item of intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Known for its intricate folding techniques, Fanlihua is a three-dimensional paper art that creates the enchanting illusion of “flowers within flowers, flowers transforming within flowers,” a visual metaphor that has long captivated festival-goers. Carrying a box of Daoxiangcun pastries, Ms. Qian, a young visitor born in the 2000s, eagerly examined the Fanlihua she had just purchased. Inspired to attend the fair after seeing media coverage, she told CSST that “The guochao (China-chic) here isn’t just a superficial label—it genuinely brings old traditions to life in a way that resonates with us young people.”

For Mr. Quan, a Beijing native in his 70s, Longfusi evokes deeper emotional memories. “I grew up in this neighborhood and often came to the ‘People’s Market’ with my parents to shop. The area is more beautiful now, but the liveliness and the familiar old flavors instantly take me back to my childhood,” he shared. Quan proudly displayed the “treasures” he purchased: Liubiju pickles to share with his wife and a Tu’erye—a clay figurine originating in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty, originally used in Mid-Autumn moon worship rituals and later evolving into a children’s toy—for his grandson. He expressed hope that the traditions of old Beijing will continue to be passed down across generations.

“The key to ICH transmission lies in integrating it into contemporary life,” said Zhang Bo, deputy director of the Institute of Beijing Studies at Beijing Union University and vice president of the China Folklore Society. In her view, vibrant cultural areas such as Longfusi provide a new stage for the contemporary expression of ICH. The steady flow of visitors, especially young people, ensures sustained attention, while on-site interactive demonstrations by ICH practitioners transform these expressions into tangible, accessible, consumable, and experiential elements of everyday life.

Wei Caihua, a professor from the School of Chinese Language and Literature at Shanxi University, stated: “The historically vibrant public space created by the Longfusi temple fair has fostered an internal drive for a ‘folk economy.’ This commercial tradition, rooted in cultural identity, has maintained its market vitality through over a century of evolution, offering valuable insights for the preservation of urban cultural heritage in Beijing and across the nation.”

Compared with earlier periods, Wei noted, today’s Longfusi New Year Market has undergone significant transformation. Functionally, it has evolved from a marketplace meeting daily material needs into an urban cultural landmark centered on experiential and cultural consumption. In form, it has transitioned from spontaneously formed open-air stalls to a carefully curated exhibition-style market. In terms of participants, it has expanded from primarily local residents to a diverse mix of young consumers, tourists, and creative industry professionals. The model of “time-honored brands + new guochao” preserves Longfusi’s historical memory and cultural essence while infusing the historic district with contemporary dynamism.

Each reinvention of Longfusi bears the imprint of its era. Today, rooted in tradition yet animated by innovation, it continues to weave a vibrant story that belongs both to Beijing and to the enduring spirit of the Spring Festival.