To celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, the charcoal sparks dance, an intangible cultural heritage of China, provided a visual feast for visitors at a scenic spot in east China's Anhui Province As night fell at the Qiyunshan scenic spot in Xiuning County on Saturday, a charcoal sparks dance performance illuminated the sky. As the performers waved bamboo poles adorned with spark-emitting cages, sparks transformed into countless golden flowers.
"I've seen it on TV before. It's even more amazing and enjoyable to see on site. I highly recommend it," said Shen Lusha, a tourist.
The charcoal sparks dance is a traditional folk dance originating from central China's Hunan Province. The performers place red-hot charcoal fuel into a small iron wire cage, which is then tied to the tip of a bamboo pole with a rope. Then they swing the bamboo pole, triggering the wire lantern to move. In the night, the dance creates a mesmerizing display, with changing movements and flying sparks.
"The dimmer the light, the better it will be," said Wang Tongzhang, an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage.
The dance not only won acclaim from the audience offline, but also gained the attention of tens of millions of online viewers on the short video platforms.
"Dancing requires a lot of efforts. Once you start, you have to keep going. The bigger the movements, the larger the sparks. So if you begin dancing, you can't pause. Sometimes, the charcoal sparks may even fall on my head and burn my hair. Through my videos, I hope people can see and understand this traditional culture," said Shi Haifeng, a short video maker.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday this year, Qiyunshan scenic spot has created an immersive tourism experience with focus on intangible cultural heritage performances, aiming to attract first-time visitors to return.
"While enjoying the beautiful scenery of Qiyun Mountain, tourists can also immerse themselves in intangible cultural heritage skills. During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, it is expected that the number of tourists will exceed 100,000," said Tao Ru, manager of the cultural tourism department of the Qiyunshan Management Committee.
The Mid-Autumn Festival in China is a festival in honor of the moon and harvest, as well as an occasion for family and friend reunions to eat mooncakes and appreciate the moon. It falls on the fifteenth day of the eight month in the traditional Chinese calendar.
This year's festival falls on Sept 17, with the public holiday running from Sunday to Tuesday.
Dazzling charcoal sparks dance provides visual fest for visitors in China's Anhui
More users of new energy vehicles (NEVs) are hitting the road during this year’s National Day holiday, as an expanded public charging network in China is significantly alleviating range anxiety for drivers.
Since Tuesday, the first day of the week-long holiday, expressways in east China's Jiangsu Province have seen daily traffic exceed 150,000 vehicles, with nearly 10 percent being NEVs. In Taizhou City, a service area reported all 12 charging piles occupied around 14:00 on Wednesday.
"The number of charging piles has doubled, and they are all fast chargers. What's even more reassuring is that the staff are always here to serve us, which really eases my range anxiety," said Meng Haoyang, a NEV driver.
Similar scenes were observed in Anhui Province, where electric vehicles are arriving for charging every ten minutes at a service area equipped with 16 functioning charging piles available around-the-clock.
"It is quite convenient to charge our vehicles here since there are staff providing full service, which reduces our waiting time," said Jiang Hao, another NEV driver.
A famous tourist attraction, the Shimen Village in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province has drawn an increasing number of visitors going on holiday via electric vehicles, thanks to the construction of a new EV charging station.
"It is very convenient. The car is parked outside being charged while we're enjoying our tour around the village. Things can be done simultaneously without delay," said a tourist Wan Qian.
Data from the State Grid's smart vehicle networking platform showed EV charging volume at expressway stations reached a record 15.58 million kilowatt-hours during the first two days of the holiday, up 56 percent from the same period last year.
Local authorities are actively fostering a user-friendly environment to accommodate the surge in EV traffic.
In Pinghu City, Zhejiang Province, three mobile charging stations have been added to a service area on the busy Shenyang-Haikou Expressway to resolve drivers' range anxiety and offer more flexible charging options.
"We have prepared mobile charging piles in service areas with large traffic and charging demand for the holiday, guiding drivers to charge in an orderly and fast manner," said Zhu Zhenyuan, a staff member from the State Grid Pinghu Power Supply Company.
The coverage of charging stations has been further expanded across the country.
In Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province, charging facilities are available in all service areas and tourist attractions.
In Xiaogan, Hubei Province, 600 villages and rural scenic spots have been equipped with charging stations during this holiday, greatly facilitating tourist trips and family visits for EVs owners.
Expanded charging network boosts NEV use during National Day holiday
