China celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival
CCTV.com
09-08-2014 20:50 BJT
It’s already the third day of the Mid-Autumn holiday. But Monday was the actual day of the festival itself, which falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, when the moon is at its fullest and roundest. For Chinese people, the full moon symbolizes reunions, so families gather together for dinner and travel.
Celebrating reunions and festivities with the crowd...
In southwest China’s Chongqing, a "hundred family banquet" was held, with a hundred delicacies spread out along a twenty-meter table. Fifty families from a neighborhood gathered to eat and talk.
In the old town of Wangling in Chongqing, folk artists staged a local Sichuan opera. Residents were dazzled by the local theatrical performance.
People also enjoyed making glutinous rice cakes, called Ciba. The challenge of using long poles to make the delicacy was all part of the fun.
Observing the moon and eating moon cakes may be a traditional routine on Mid Autumn Day, but in Yunnan province, you can add a new element: hot springs.
With improved service, hot springs are seeing a surge in tourists.
"We’ve been 100% full during the three day holiday, with takings of over a million yuan. More than 10,000 tourists came," said Yang Fuquan, manager of Dali Geothermal Hotel.
In East China’s Jingdezhen city, a ritual was held to worship the moon. Staff showed residents how to write down their hopes and dreams on the cards of the river lights, and put the lights in the river. One person is proud to have been officiating for eight years.
"Attending such activity gives me a greater sense of national identity, and makes us more proud of our national culture," said Wang Lu, officiant of Moon Sacrificial Ritual.
The organizer hopes the traditional customs and ceremonies can revive people’s memories of the past and their hometown.