China Media Group's (CMG's) Mid-Autumn Festival Gala, which is set to air on Tuesday night to celebrate the moon-themed traditional festival, will stage a warm scene of family reunion and artistic interpretation of major events of the year from the perspective of ordinary people.
The annual gala, also known as "Qiuwan" in Chinese, will spotlight key topics of interest for audiences at home and abroad, including the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to China, and significant milestones such as the Chang'e-6 space missions and the Paris Olympics.
The gala was recorded in Shenyang City of northeast China's Liaoning Province, a 2,300-year-old city boasting three world cultural heritage sites and over 1,500 historical and cultural sites. The city is also one of the most well-known industrial cities in China.
Many performances of the gala will incorporate local elements such as Shenyang Guan's Shadow Puppetry, Errenzhuan (a blend of storytelling, singing and dancing between two performers) and 13 landmarks including the Shenyang Imperial Palace, the Liaoning Provincial Museum, the China Industrial Museum, and the Old North Market, to present the audience Shenyang's history and cultural charm, according to Yang Qifang, general planner of the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala.
"Many performances are on very serious topics, such as the return of People's Volunteer Army veterans and the rejuvenation of the old heavy industrial base. We will present them in a very tender way," Yang said, referring to return of remains of Chinese soldiers who fell in action in the 1950-1953 Korean War.
French pianist Richard Clayderman, Hungarian pianist Balazs Havasi and Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen will also join the grand event to share the warm and romantic moments with global audience.
In addition, full moon pictures collected through global social media will also be displayed at the gala, allowing the audience to appreciate the beauty of the moonlight from all over the world.
"The Chinese people have a deep devotion to circle. When the moon becomes a full circle, families reunite, symbolizing a perfect conclusion after a year of anticipation and waiting," Yang said.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, is a cherished occasion for family reunions in China. It falls on Tuesday this year.
CMG's 2024 Mid-Autumn Festival Gala to highlight family reunion, major events
Ports in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) rendered record high passenger and vehicle flows during the week-long National Day holiday that ended on Monday.
The Zhuhai port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge witnessed more than 630,000 entry-exit passenger trips in the seven days, up 63.3 percent year on year. On Saturday alone, the port handled 22,600 inbound and outbound vehicles, setting a new daily record of vehicle traffic for the fourth time this year.
The Hengqin Port in Zhuhai City of Guangdong Province registered over 103,500 passenger trips on Oct. 3, the third day of the holiday, setting a new record of daily passenger flow since the port opened in 2000.
Many Hong Kong and Macao residents chose to travel northward to mainland cities to spend the holiday.
"I take my family and children to Zhuhai to enjoy local delicacies. We'll also go to shopping malls and see small animals," said a Hong Kong tourist surnamed Yu.
Mainland residents were also enthusiastic to travel south to Hong Kong and Macao as highway ports in Zhuhai logged more than 276,000 entry-exit trips made by mainland travelers during the holiday, up 81.1 percent year on year.
"We went to Hong Kong to see the grand firework show during the holiday. Then we visited the Ocean Park. We stayed in Hong Kong for three days," said a mainland tourist surnamed Zhu.
A special tour of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is also popular, as the mege cross-sea bridge that opened to traffic in October 2018 received 13,500 visits made by people from all over the country during the holiday, averaging 1,928 trips each day. Since the visit to the bridge was put into tourism itinerary tentatively in December 2023, the structure has received a total of 228,500 visits.
Ports in Shenzhen City of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong recorded 5.294 million entry-exit passenger trips during the holiday, up 28.5 percent from the previous year.
Various celebrations, including the dazzling drone show in Shenzhen and the splendid firework shows in Hong Kong, fueled people's passion to make cross-border trips.
On Oct. 2 alone, mainland residents made a total of 421,000 trips through these ports, hitting a new high since their reopening after the pandemic. Since the mega cruise ship Costa Serena began its two-month seasonal homeporting deployment in Hong Kong, cruise tours have become a new craze among mainland tourists.
As of Monday, the Liantang border inspection station in Shenzhen had approved the pass of two large cruise tour groups made up of nearly 3,000 mainland tourists.
Record entries, exits registered in Greater Bay Area
