The compatriots from both sides of the Taiwan Strait celebrated the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival on Thursday at a event in the city of Fuzhou in east China's Fujian Province.
Watching performanes and enjoying festive lanterns, people from near and far across the country celebrated the traditional Chinese festival together.
"The Mid-Autumn Festival is an important traditional holiday of ours symbolizing reunion and completeness. I believe that if compatriots on the both sides of the Taiwan Strait can work together, we will surely create a bright future together," said Margaret Chiang, who was born in Taiwan and is now serveing as the current director of the Taiwan compatriots investment enterprises association of Fuzhou.
"The interaction between the two sides, and the feelings shared by the people of both sides, as you can see, are from the bottom of their heart. It feels really good," said Andrew Hsia, vice chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party.
Younger generations in the Taiwan region see more deveopment opportunities in the mainland, and the integrated development projects across the Taiwan Strait has been implemented for a year.
"We have the same roots. People in Taiwan can come to the mainland, and vice versa to enhance exchanges," said Chiu Pin-ping, a cultural and creative designer from Taiwan.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional Chinese festival celebrated on the night when the moon reaches its fullest and brightest on the 15th day of the eighth month on the lunar calendar. This year, the day falls on Sept. 17. During the festival, families reunite, admire the moon, share moon cakes and light up lanterns.
Cross-strait event held to mark upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival
China has seen a notable rise in cultural tourism and inbound travel over Mid-Autumn Festival period, which shows increased interests in both cultural and natural sceneries.
The time-honored Mid-Autumn Festival has always featured family reunions since ancient times, summoning people's craving for traveling vast distances to be with their families and loved ones.
According to China Mobile's Wutong Big Data, the average distance traveled for family reunion was 253 kilometers during this year's holiday that ran from Sept 15 to 17. Short-distance trips of under 200 kilometers were most common, comprising 63 percent of the total, while 27 percent of travelers journeyed between 200 and 500 kilometers, and 10 percent traveled over 500 kilometers, indicating a strong preference for shorter, more manageable trips among holidaymakers.
In addition to family reunions, the popularity of traditional activities such as moon gazing and lantern shows continued to rise. Themed night tours featuring lantern displays attracted significant attention to notable spots such as the Beijing Garden Expo Park, Guangzhou Cultural Park, Luogang Park in Hefei, Songgai Ancient Town in Chongqing, and Meiyuan Hengshan Scenic Area in Wuxi.
The holiday also marked a rise in inbound tourism, with a 22 percent increase in international visitors compared with last year. Southeast Asia, Europe, and Africa are the regions with the largest climb in inbound tourists.
The provinces of Shanxi, Jiangxi, Inner Mongolia, Guizhou, and Hunan experienced the highest increases in international arrivals, with some even more than doubling the numbers of the previous year.
As China continues to expand its tourism appeal, the upward trends in travel and cultural engagement are set to continue into future holiday seasons.
China sees surge in tourism market during Mid-Autumn Festival
