介绍:
China starts off Mid-Autumn holiday with unique celebrations
Anchor:
Traditional celebrations to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival have kicked off across China, although the festivities in some regions are quite unique from the rest.
CRI's Cao Yuwei explains.
Reporter:
The Mid-Autumn Festival falls every year on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar.
In Hong Kong, people began celebrating on the eve of the Festival on Sunday night with the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance.
68-year-old Chan Tak Fai is director-general of the fire dragon dance.
(soundbite/0908 Chan Tak Fai)
"Tai Hang village used to be inhabited by the Hakka people. I was born here and have taken part in the dance for more than 50 years. Many young people like this tradition."
The celebration also attracted tourists from around the world.
(soundbite/0908 Schmid)
"We like very much this Chinese tradition to do so, so we enjoy it very much to bring home some memories to Germany."
Meanwhile, on the mainland in the province of Jiangsu, people there have been purchasing embroidered shoes with rabbit designs as gifts for kids.
For members of China's Hakka minority in the city of Ganzhou, celebrating the festival means dancing around bonfires.
In Beijing, an international Mid-autumn poetry reciting event has attracted some of the world's most famous poets, including Swedish writer Kjell .
Espmark used to chair the jury for Nobel Prize for literature, also attended the event.
(soundbite/0908 Espmark)
"These festivals are important, because they create a network, where poets get to know each other. So they help crossing the borders. Because that comes the dialogue between you and me and so on. So many of my best literary friends are people I met at festivals like this one."
Mid-autumn festival is not only celebrated in China.
It's also marked in other Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines, among others.
In Singapore, some 3-thousand flower-shaped lanterns have lit up Singapore's Chinatown ahead of the festival.
For certain non-traditional celebrations, some Chinese airlines are offering flights designed to try to give passengers a clear view of the moon during the Mid-Autumn festival.
This involves tilting the airliners at certain angles to give passengers the best possible view of the moon.
China Eastern Airlines is also amending its menu and other services.
(soundbite/0908 attendant)
"During the Mid-Autumn festival, there will be festive foods, including mooncakes, on the flights. There is also free wifi on board so our passengers can speak with their families via webcams."
On top of moon watching and eating pastries, family reunions are also a tradition of the festival.
China's railway system is already feeling the strain, as travelers have been rushing to get home before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
This year has seen more than 9 million people taking to the rail system to make it back to their hometowns or tourist attractions on Saturday, the first day of the weekend travel rush.
This is up more than 23 percent compared to last year.
For CRI, I'm Cao Yuwei.
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