The "one-hour living circle" project in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has promoted integration of southern China's cities, and is expected to create more business opportunities and enhance convenience of life.
The project aims to connect major cities in the area with bridges, tunnels and easier border crossing procedures, reducing travel time around the area to about one hour.
Vincent Lam, a Chinese medicine entrepreneur in Macao, has invested in the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Zhuhai, one of the 11 cities in the area.
Hengqin Island began closed-loop customs operations in March, offering tax exemptions for certain goods. Lam said the convenient transportation and favorable policies attracted him to operate one of nearly 6,000 Macao enterprises in this area.
"On one side, it's very close to Macao, it's easy to get to the Belt and Road, Portuguese cities. The cost [here] is lower, the intangible assets for us are more, because here, it's a very big market, I can do online selling, it's much easier, there's huge potential," he said.
Lam's decision also helped create a new cross-border family: Vincent has since married his girlfriend from Zhuhai and started a new life in Hengqin.
"I had two kids in two years. They are really the new generation [of Macao people] to be born in Hengqin, and grow up in Hengqin," he said.
More than 20,000 people from Macao now live in Hengqin, up 20 percent from last year.
Thanks to the Northbound Travel Scheme, Hong Kong and Macao residents can travel more conveniently to the mainland via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Travelers said they expect more communication and a more convenient life in the "one-hour living circle."
"Hong Kong has been back for many years now, and we are a family, after all. The 'one-hour living circle' has been discussed for years, it's finally become a reality. I think it's a breakthrough for domestic circulation," said Stanley Yip, a visitor from Hong Kong.
"We booked a villa for the whole group of friends. We are excited to spend the night here and shop," said Fione Chan, a visitor from Hong Kong.
"We have felt more connected to the mainland in recent years, with new opportunities emerging. I hope for more cultural exchanges and other collaborations, so we can grow stronger together," said Ray Lam, another visitor from Hong Kong.
"One-hour living circle" drives Greater Bay Area integration
Chinese cities, towns and villages are putting on dazzling light and lantern shows, staging distinctive folk customs performances, and holding festive mooncake banquets in celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Tuesday.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivals in Chinese culture. It falls on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar and dates back more than a millennium. As a festival in honor of the moon and harvest, families reunite on the occasion to admire the bright full moon, light lanterns, and share the holiday pastry of mooncakes.
In the ancient city of Kaifeng of central China's Henan Province and Jinzhou City of northeast China's Liaoning Province, popular tourist attractions and landmarks are bathed in lights, promising a mesmerizing nighttime experience for local residents and tourists alike.
Beijing's famous Beihai Park, a public park and former imperial garden, is staging performances themed around bianzhong, or Chinese chime bells which has a history of over 2,000 years.
In tourist towns and villages of Yunnan Province in the southwest, Zhejiang Province in th east and Guangdong Province in the south, lively folk and dragon dances are gathering numerous locals and tourists to join in the festivities.
Audiences are enjoying a poetry recitation show in Hefei City, east China's Anhui Province, and a symphony in Zunyi City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, respectively.
This year, Suining City in southwest China's Sichuan Province and Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the northwest, have both prepared giant freshly made mooncakes enough to treat hundreds of people at a same time. And in a village of the southwestern Chongqing Municipality, people have prepared their own mooncakes on a flour ground from their newly harvested red sorghum.
"We are filled with the joy of harvest during the merry traditional festival. The festive mood is really nice," said Liu Ya, a local of Jiangjun Village in Chongqing's Bishan District.
Elsewhere, villages in Wuyuan County, east China's Jiangxi Province, are also celebrating their harvest of red pepper by drying them on the roofs. And another village in the eastern province of Shandong has recently held a large banquet for local households to share.
Outside the mainland, colorful lanterns are also dotting the various landmarks, streets and alleyways of Hong Kong and Macao, adding to the festive joy.
Celebrations held across China to mark traditional Mid-Autumn Festival
