The "Peace and Unity–2024" joint military exercise between China and Tanzania entered the phase of live-fire drill at sea off the east coast of Tanzania on Thursday. The participating vessels departed from the Port of Dar es Salaam and conducted various exercises, including main gun shooting and seizure operations. During the drill, 16 Tanzanian officers and soldiers were invited aboard China's amphibious dock landing ship Wuzhishan to observe the exercises.
"We expect more cooperation between our two countries. This exercise is still going on. We still have more days and we expect more and more effective exercises. And it will be teaching our officers and soldiers to have a better understanding of what is supposed to be done in the navy," said Makhala, a colonel of the Tanzanian navy.
The joint exercise is carrying out under the theme of joint counter-terrorism military operations. In the following days, a range of subjects at sea such as visit board search and seizure (VBSS), anti-terrorism and anti-piracy, and joint maritime patrols will be carried out successively.
"Our two sides cooperated very tacitly in main gun shooting and other subjects, and achieved the expected objectives of the exercise. Through several exercises, our mutual trust and friendship have been enhanced, while also confirming our practical ability to jointly address maritime security threats," said Fei Zhang, a soldier on the Wuzhishan landing ship.
The exercise, which started on Tuesday, will conclude drills at sea on August 5, and the drills on land on August 11.
Joint China-Tanzania military exercise enters phase of live-fire drill at sea
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
