Raleigh’s State Fair & Beijing’s Ditan Fair by Jiarui Lee

October 28, 2015 maday4 2-min. read

Last week, both our teachers and classmates asked us if we had been to the NC State Fair. It sounded intriguing. On Saturday, we decided to go to the State Fair! Considering it’s an annual event, I was excited to see what it was all about. State fairs are a celebration of food, entertainment and pride and are held annually in most states. Both North and South Carolina hosted their 2015 state fairs from October 15th to the 25th.

In China, fairs are called “Miaohui” (庙会), and they are usually a week-long during the Chinese New Year. There are ceremonies, performances and food, and tens of thousands of people attend.

Food

There was a big variety of food at the State Fair, including burgers, cheese salad, fried green tomatoes, and all kinds of chips. I tried the funnel cake, because I saw almost everyone holding one. It was sooooo sweet! The pizza tasted really good!

There was a sea of people during the time we were there! We could hardly walk though the street, especially on the food streets.

In China, the fairs are also full of people. There are many kinds of food from all around the country. It’s hard to find a place to eat.

Entertainment

On the midway, there was exciting entertainment, such as merry-go-rounds, ferris wheels, and a rollercoaster. Unfortunately, it was too crowded to get close to the rides there. Let’s look at some pictures instead.

A normal Chinese fair does not have quite as many entertainment facilities as there were in Raleigh’s fair.

The Temple Fair is located in the center of Beijing city; so there is not enough space. But you can see lots of performances which are mainly about traditional Chinese culture.

Exhibition Hall

Look at these huge watermelons!

We went to the agriculture exhibition. It was amazing. Besides the introduction of new agricultural products and technology, my favorite part was the 360 degree video show.

The 360-degree video allows visitors an immersive, firsthand look at a harvest. Agriculture is a major focus of The N.C. State Fair every year. The Agriculture Today exhibit holds The North Carolina Agriculture 360 Virtual Reality Experience theater, and it is at the Ag Today tent on the south side of Dorton Arena.

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Last but not least, we got stamps for our visit at the exit gate! We loved the violin stamps! I had quite a different experience at the North Carolina State Fair.