2026 Baosheng Cultural Festival—A Cultural Journey Where Tradition and Modernity IntertwinePost date：2026-05-22
Updates：2026-05-22
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The highly anticipated 2026 Baosheng Cultural Festival will officially open on April 19. More than a major religious event, it is a landmark annual festival in Taipei’s cultural calendar. Through a series of carefully curated performances and rituals, the Dalongdong Baoan Temple transforms traditional temple festivities into a cultural practice that integrates religion, art, and scholarship, both preserving folk traditions and responding to contemporary cultural needs, enabling this nationally designated intangible cultural heritage to continue demonstrating its vibrant and enduring vitality.
The birthday celebration of Baosheng Emperor is one of Taiwan's most important folk cultural heritage events and a national cultural asset.
With its long-standing commitment to cultural continuity and public engagement, Dalongdong Baoan Temple integrates traditional rituals with contemporary ideas to develop the annual cultural programs that constitute the Baosheng Cultural Festival, which has gradually developed a structured and multifaceted festival identity.
From the opening ceremony onward, the 2026 Baosheng Cultural Festival unfolds through a series of events including lineage opera performances (家姓戲匯演), folk procession troupes, fire lion rituals (火獅施放), and concerts. Parallel programs include free medical clinics, sketching and photography competitions, art awards, medical contribution awards, and an academic symposium on religious studies.
During the festival period, key rituals are also held in conjunction with the Baosheng Emperor's birthday, the Flying Ascension Banquet ritual (飛昇宴王祭), ceremonies for the Goddess of Childbirth and Mazu, as well as the Three Sacrificial Rites (三獻禮) dedicated to Baosheng Emperor and the Shennong Emperor. Taken as a whole, they present a cultural landscape in which religion, art, festival practice, and scholarship intersect, revealing the multilayered vitality of Taiwanese folk culture.
One of the festival's key programs is the folk theatre segment Lineage Opera (家姓戲), which continues a tradition dating back to the Qing dynasty. It will be staged from April 19 to May 14 at the Dalongdong Baoan Temple temple forecourt stage. The lineup includes well-known Taiwanese theatre troupes and apprentice ensembles guided by master artists. The Baoan Temple Xingtan Taiwanese Opera Society (杏壇歌仔戲社) will also present Romantic Shadows (儷影情緣), showcasing the temple’s long-term efforts to preserve and pass down traditional opera.
The highlight of the festival takes place on April 30. In the afternoon, various folk procession troupes gather in front of the temple, taking it in turns to perform and create a vibrant and dynamic festival atmosphere. In the evening, the Fire Lion (放火獅) ritual is held, which combines traditional paper-craft with modern pyrotechnic techniques. The lion is meticulously created by artisans such as Qing-rong Li. As night falls, firecrackers and fireworks erupt from within the lion’s body, sending cascades of light into the sky above Dalongdong, symbolizing the dispelling of illness and misfortune while embodying collective prayers for peace, health, and blessings.
On May 1, the birthday of Baosheng Emperor, the Three Sacrificial Rites (三獻禮) ceremony is held. This ritual is a comprehensive cultural performance combining ritual gestures, spoken prayers, musical rhythm, and spatial arrangement, and is one of the most iconic traditional ceremonies in Taiwanese folk religion.
Rooted in ancient ritual beliefs, the ceremony is conducted by temple chairman Wu-jyh Liao, while participants complete the first, second, and final offerings. Through incense rituals, offerings, prayers, and formal bows, the ceremony presents a solemn and structured ritual process that, in conjunction with guided interpretation, enables the public to gain deeper understanding of the historical and cultural context of Taiwanese folk belief while also expressing the reverence that connects humans and deities.
The 2026 Baosheng Cultural Festival is both a cultural dialogue across time and a reflection of Dalongdong Baoan Temple’s long-standing commitment to the practice and preservation of traditional culture. By integrating religion, art, scholarship, and festival practice, it fully reveals the diversity and vitality of Taiwanese folk belief. Visitors are warmly invited to step into Dalongdong, where celebration and solemnity intertwine, and experience one of the most profound and heartfelt cultural landscapes of Taiwan.
▍2026 Baosheng Cultural Festival
Transportation Information
• Metro: Take the Tamsui-Xinyi Metro Line to Yuanshan Station, then walk for about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Bus: Take a bus to Dalongdong Baoan Temple Stop or Jiuquan and Chongqing Intersection Stop.
• Car: Parking is available in the Dalong Elementary School underground parking lot, or you can drive directly to Baoan Temple.
The birthday celebration of Baosheng Emperor is one of Taiwan's most important folk cultural heritage events and a national cultural asset.
With its long-standing commitment to cultural continuity and public engagement, Dalongdong Baoan Temple integrates traditional rituals with contemporary ideas to develop the annual cultural programs that constitute the Baosheng Cultural Festival, which has gradually developed a structured and multifaceted festival identity.
From the opening ceremony onward, the 2026 Baosheng Cultural Festival unfolds through a series of events including lineage opera performances (家姓戲匯演), folk procession troupes, fire lion rituals (火獅施放), and concerts. Parallel programs include free medical clinics, sketching and photography competitions, art awards, medical contribution awards, and an academic symposium on religious studies.
During the festival period, key rituals are also held in conjunction with the Baosheng Emperor's birthday, the Flying Ascension Banquet ritual (飛昇宴王祭), ceremonies for the Goddess of Childbirth and Mazu, as well as the Three Sacrificial Rites (三獻禮) dedicated to Baosheng Emperor and the Shennong Emperor. Taken as a whole, they present a cultural landscape in which religion, art, festival practice, and scholarship intersect, revealing the multilayered vitality of Taiwanese folk culture.
One of the festival's key programs is the folk theatre segment Lineage Opera (家姓戲), which continues a tradition dating back to the Qing dynasty. It will be staged from April 19 to May 14 at the Dalongdong Baoan Temple temple forecourt stage. The lineup includes well-known Taiwanese theatre troupes and apprentice ensembles guided by master artists. The Baoan Temple Xingtan Taiwanese Opera Society (杏壇歌仔戲社) will also present Romantic Shadows (儷影情緣), showcasing the temple’s long-term efforts to preserve and pass down traditional opera.
The highlight of the festival takes place on April 30. In the afternoon, various folk procession troupes gather in front of the temple, taking it in turns to perform and create a vibrant and dynamic festival atmosphere. In the evening, the Fire Lion (放火獅) ritual is held, which combines traditional paper-craft with modern pyrotechnic techniques. The lion is meticulously created by artisans such as Qing-rong Li. As night falls, firecrackers and fireworks erupt from within the lion’s body, sending cascades of light into the sky above Dalongdong, symbolizing the dispelling of illness and misfortune while embodying collective prayers for peace, health, and blessings.
On May 1, the birthday of Baosheng Emperor, the Three Sacrificial Rites (三獻禮) ceremony is held. This ritual is a comprehensive cultural performance combining ritual gestures, spoken prayers, musical rhythm, and spatial arrangement, and is one of the most iconic traditional ceremonies in Taiwanese folk religion.
Rooted in ancient ritual beliefs, the ceremony is conducted by temple chairman Wu-jyh Liao, while participants complete the first, second, and final offerings. Through incense rituals, offerings, prayers, and formal bows, the ceremony presents a solemn and structured ritual process that, in conjunction with guided interpretation, enables the public to gain deeper understanding of the historical and cultural context of Taiwanese folk belief while also expressing the reverence that connects humans and deities.
The 2026 Baosheng Cultural Festival is both a cultural dialogue across time and a reflection of Dalongdong Baoan Temple’s long-standing commitment to the practice and preservation of traditional culture. By integrating religion, art, scholarship, and festival practice, it fully reveals the diversity and vitality of Taiwanese folk belief. Visitors are warmly invited to step into Dalongdong, where celebration and solemnity intertwine, and experience one of the most profound and heartfelt cultural landscapes of Taiwan.
▍2026 Baosheng Cultural Festival
Transportation Information
• Metro: Take the Tamsui-Xinyi Metro Line to Yuanshan Station, then walk for about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Bus: Take a bus to Dalongdong Baoan Temple Stop or Jiuquan and Chongqing Intersection Stop.
• Car: Parking is available in the Dalong Elementary School underground parking lot, or you can drive directly to Baoan Temple.
