Today, Mid-Autumn Festival festivities are more varied. After a family reunion dinner, many people like to go out to attend special performances in parks or public squares.

People in different parts of China have different ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Guangzhou in South China, a huge lantern show is a big attraction for local citizens. Thousands of differently shaped lanterns are lit, forming a fantastic contrast to the bright moonlight.

In East China's Zhejiang Province, watching the flood tide of the Qiantang River during the Mid-Autumn Festival is not only a must for local people, but also an attraction for those from other parts of the country. The ebb and flow of tides coincide with the waxing and waning of the moon as it exerts a strong gravitational pull. In mid autumn, the sun, earth and moon send out strong gravitational forces upon the seas. As the narrow mouth of the Qiantang River is shaped like a bugle, the flood tide which forms there is particularly impressive. Spectators crowd on the riverbank, watching the roaring waves. At its peak, the tide rises as high as three and a half meters.

  Origin

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival for both the Han and minority nationalities. The custom of worshipping the moon (called "xi yue" in Chinese) can be traced back as far as the ancient Xia and Shang dynasties (2000-1066BC). In the Zhou Dynasty (1066-221BC), people held ceremonies to greet winter and worship the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival set in. It became very popular in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) for people to enjoy and worship the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), however, people sent round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts to express their best wishes of family reunion. When it became dark, they watched the full silver moon or went sightseeing on lakes to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration has been unprecedentedly popular. Together with the celebration there appear some special customs in different parts of the country, such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting lanterns on towers and fire dragon dances. Although the custom of playing under the moon is not so popular as it used to be, to enjoy the bright silver moon is as popular as ever. Whenever the festival sets in, people will look up at the full silver moon, drink wine to celebrate their happy life or think of their relatives and friends far from home, and extend all of their best wishes to them.

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