China's mooncake market heats up during the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, with a variety of brands, flavors, and packaging designs drawing a steady stream of consumers.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, has traditionally been a cherished occasion for family reunions. People in China always mark the occasion by eating mooncakes, a type of bakery product.
In southwest China's Chengdu City, a mooncake festival brought together over 200 companies from more than 10 of the 31-provincial-level regions in the Chinese mainland to showcase their products with innovative flavors and exquisite packaging designs.
"We have a little one at home who prefers mooncakes with a thinner crust and a variety of fruit flavors, rather than the traditional ones. I've also bought some freshly baked mooncakes. We're having these mooncakes with the family members during the Mid-Autumn Festival to enjoy the festive atmosphere of family reunion," said a customer surnamed Hu at the mooncake fair.
Mooncake vendors also attract customers with unique ingredients and baking techniques. A particular mooncake, filled with high-quality ham from southwest China's Xuanwei City and baked fresh on-site, has been incredibly popular among customers, leading to long lines.
"The first time I came here a few days ago, I saw a lot of customers waiting in long lines to buy the mooncakes, so I decided to give them a try. After tasting them, my family members and I both love the flavor," said another customer surnamed Yao.
Mooncake sellers at the fair have also seen a surge in sales recently thanks to the Mid-Autumn Festival.
"This mooncake filling is made based on our secret recipe, made with authentic ham from Xuanwei in Yunnan Province, and it's top-notch quality. In the past few days, our sales have more than tripled, reaching 600,000 yuan (84,585 U.S. dollars). Every day, people are lining up for about two to three hours to get our freshly baked ham mooncakes," said Xu Zhen, a mooncake vendor.
A report by China's data platform DataTechnology estimates that mooncake sales in China will continue to rise this year, reaching 4.3 billion U.S. dollars for the first time.
According to DataTechnology, mooncake sales have been primarily boosted by items in lower price ranges.
In terms of preference, Chinese consumers tend to favor time-honored brands and Cantonese-style mooncakes made with lotus seed paste and egg yolks. Meanwhile, innovative flavors such as coconut milk and cheese, as well as low-sugar and miniature-sized mooncakes, cater to young consumers and the growing focus on health.
Mooncake market heats up during traditional Mid-Autumn Festival
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
