Art, culture and robots: An expat's first Beijing temple fair experience

Editor's note: Ankit Prasad is a CGTN biz commentator. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

Moving to Beijing on the cusp of the Chinese New Year holiday has been an unqualified and unexpected boon. Of course, we'd heard about its import and liveliness, particularly since it has been inscribed in UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity. And we have enjoyed streets bursting with all kinds of decorations and food. But nothing could have prepared us for just how eyeopening and fun it would be to partake in the celebrations first hand. By this, I mean visiting Beijing's famous Spring Festival temple fairs!

On our first opportunity this Saturday, we decided to make a day out of it by combining our weekly shopping with visits to two remarkable, though different-sounding, temple fairs. The second would be the popular and traditional temple fair on the well-known Liulichang Cultural Street. But the first was an innovation even for the experienced – an AI and robotics-themed temple fair in Wukesong.

Excited, and not knowing what to expect, we took the subway to our destination, arriving there with a reasonable few hours of sunlight on what was an overcast day. The venue had mixed outdoor and indoor shopping areas, and the special Chinese New Year attractions were easy to find. Our first look at a robot temple fair exhibit was among the most enjoyable. We entered just in time to hear the whistle for a robot football match! There were two remote-operated robots on each side on a makeshift futsal pitch. The child-sized robots went at it hard, pivoting and turning energetically to reach the ball, tackle, and score the occasional goal. Each time the ball bulged the net, the vibrant crowds whooped and cheered, clearly thrilled by this new innovation in the world's most popular sport.

It wasn't just sports, however. In the next atrium, a small concert was taking shape. Only instead of there being a "traditional" rock band, there were robots on each instrument. Drums, keys, rhythm, bass and lead guitar were all a part of this literal "Metallica", and the crowds loved it.

On each of the six floors of the cavernous mall, robotic attractions were hard to miss. In the food court, there were long lines to buy robot-served ice cream and fruit cocktails mixed by robot bartenders, while the longest line of all was to watch and eat french fries expertly cooked by a robo-arm. The children were the most intrigued, participating in robo-battles and robo-basketball playing. Interspersing our shopping at top brands with visits to robot kiosks, we saw gaggles of people surrounding the most human-like robot as well as their more traditional RoboCop-like cousins. It had been a jaw-dropping introduction to the burgeoning future, in the most festive and people-friendly way.

Delighted by our first experience and in a hurry to make it to our second before twilight, we moved towards Liulichang. Emerging from Hepingmen subway station, the temple fair was hard to miss. Large crowds were heading towards the lantern-lit streets, with just as many people returning after a day spent clearly having a blast. We entered the West Street first, being greeted immediately by rows upon rows of red lanterns overhead and a delightful "Year of the Snake" installation on the small and welcoming square. On all sides, were stalls selling food. From spun sugar candies in the shape of animals to the ever-present tanghulu (candied fruits on a skewer), and from sizzling sausages to a traditional plum and pear-infused drinks, it all looked great and smelled even nicer, the aroma wafting over the entire street and warming everyone up on a cold evening.

As we walked through the street, the lanterns overhead became even more dense and creative, even as the facades of the hutong areas on both sides became more grand and intricate. Stalls sold hand-held windmill fans that clicked joyfully when waved about, while bulb-lit headdresses were flying off the shelves. And about a few dozen meters into the street, we discovered why it's such a culture hub. Liulichang is filled with many art studios, selling all manner of traditional paintings, scapes, scrolls and calligraphy, along with shops filled to bursting with artefacts, decorations and knickknacks. They were friendly, welcoming, and didn't mind us taking pictures of some incredible landscapes as well as the occasional house cat.

Not intending to do so, initially having spent all our money shopping and on food, this author couldn't help but purchase one small artwork for home – egged on by the artist who graciously lowered the price for our benefit. As we made our way back to our flat, stopping to take many photos and selfies, we couldn't help but feel happy that we were carrying with us a small but deeply evocative, timeless and beautiful token of our first Spring Festival in Beijing – something that most definitely represents an indelible part of humanity's cultural heritage.