A traditional vegetable-gathering event was held on Friday in Jianshi County, central China's Hubei Province, to celebrate the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and usher in a bountiful harvest by the year's end.
"Moqiu," or "Touching the Autumn," is a traditional folk activity of the Tujia ethnic group that has been passed down through generations for several hundred years.
The event is typically held around the Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese celebration that falls on the night when the moon is at its fullest, on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar.
With this year's Mid-Autumn Festival set to be celebrated on September 17, villagers in Jianshi County flocked to gather vegetables from local gardens, a gesture symbolizing their hopes for a bountiful harvest.
The event began with a rhythmic dragon dance, accompanied by fireworks. Applause erupted consistently throughout the performance as the dragon moved up and down and back and forth.
After the show, villagers and tourists, holding torches in hand, followed the dragon to a garden where they raced to gather vegetables such as eggplants, peppers, and ears of corn.
"It was a great joy for me to participate in 'Moqiu' today and wear the Tujia traditional ethnic clothing. And as lucky as I am, I gathered the biggest bunch of grapes in this day's activity, " tourist Tian Wenwen said.
Traditional vegetable-gathering event held in Hubei to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival
Traditional vegetable-gathering event held in Hubei to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival
