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
Since the beginning of this year, China's financial sector has further improved financing services for small and micro enterprises, particularly by addressing financing blockages for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), amidst the country's strengthened support for businesses in recent years.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission recently issued a document addressing the blockages in the financing process of MSMEs.
According to the document, the range of entities eligible for liability exemption upon fulfilling due diligence has been broadened to cover loans in key areas such as small and micro enterprises, self-employed individuals, owners of small and micro enterprises, and farmers. This move aims to effectively reduce the burden on grassroots credit personnel and address their concerns regarding lending.
Meanwhile, the scope of renewal has been broadened from certain small and micro enterprises to include all small and micro enterprises.
It is specified that small and micro enterprises with working capital loans and owners of small and micro enterprises, self-employed individuals, and farmers who continue to require financing after the loan terms can seek renewal support from banks.
To enhance support for small and micro enterprises, coordination among different national departments, as well as between national ministries and local governments, is growing increasingly tight.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and the National Development and Reform Commission have established a coordination mechanism to bolster financing for small and micro enterprises.
For instance, special teams have been set up at the county and district levels throughout China to comprehensively assess the financing needs of small and micro enterprises.
For small and micro enterprises with genuine financing needs and good credit standing, banks are required to complete credit approvals within one month in principle, guaranteeing direct access to credit funds for these enterprises.
As of the end of August this year, the balance of inclusive loans to small and micro enterprises nationwide reached 31.9 trillion yuan (around 4.5 trillion U.S. dollars), doubling that at the end of 2017, with the average interest rate decreasing by a cumulative 3.5 percentage points.
By the end of September, the six major commercial banks - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Bank of Communications (BCM), and Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) - have collectively extended over 2.2 trillion yuan (around 310.9 billion U.S. dollars) in newly added inclusive loans to small and micro enterprises this year.
China's financial sector further removes MSMEs' financing blockages in 2024
