Museums and scenic spots across China are introducing innovative activities to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, allowing visitors to savor traditional culture and share festive moments with their family members.
The festival, which lands on Tuesday this year, is one of the most important annual traditions in China and is a time for family reunions, appreciating the full moon, lighting lanterns, and sharing the holiday pastry of mooncakes.
In Luoyang City of central China's Henan province, museums have extended their opening hours, and introduced refreshing educational activities for families to enjoy together.
Many have taken the chance to experience more Chinese history and culture during the holiday period, with visitors saying they were pleased to gain more deep historical insights through the exhibitions.
"The docent's introduction revealed to me many fascinating stories behind the cultural relics and during the excavation, which made history more tangible for me. For our younger generations, only through understanding our history better can we strengthen our cultural confidence and inherit the fine elements of Chinese culture," said Chen Jia'er, a visitor.
Museum staff are also holding special events and have brought in additional help to meet the increased holiday demand.
"We launched enameled glass night lamp event in Luoyang Museum, titled 'Meet the Goddess of Moon Palace,' for children and parents to explore the culture and tradition of Mid-Autumn Festival together. During the festival, we also added extra shifts for docents and volunteers to deliver a better cultural experience to visitors," said Li Chenfei, the deputy head of the social education department of Luoyang Museum.
In Zhangjiajie City of the central Hunan Province, a blend of Mid-Autumn traditions, festival mythology, and modern sports brought visitors an innovative experience. In addition to various performances of traditional arts, China's mythical ancient moon goddess Chang'e, the protagonist of Mid-Autumn mythology, made an appearance in the Tianmen Mountain scenic area, with a daring arrival on a hot-air balloon, with paragliders escorting the actor portraying her.
"We saw a real Chang'e flying to the moon. It perfectly captures the Mid-Autumn atmosphere, and helped us tourists, who are far away from our hometown, to feel the warmth and unity of the festival," said a tourist from south China's Fujian Province surnamed Chen.
"It is quite eye-opening. The fusion of traditional culture and extreme sports is special," said a local visitor surnamed Jiang.
Museums, scenic spots introduce Innovative activities 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
