As the eight-day combined National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday kicked off on Wednesday, millions of Chinese travelers opted for self-driving trips, sparking a significant surge in demand for electric vehicle (EV) charging across the country.
To support this green travel boom and ensure reliable charging on expressways and at tourist destinations, authorities nationwide have rolled out a series of targeted measures.
In Tacheng City in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local power supply department conducted special inspections of charging stations near popular tourist areas to identify and eliminate potential safety hazards.
Anticipating peak electricity demand driven by the holiday rush, they also assembled emergency response teams equipped with mobile power generators to guarantee uninterrupted power supply throughout the holiday.
At the Tianmu Lake service area along the Changchun–Shenzhen Expressway in Changzhou City in east China's Jiangsu Province, authorities installed four additional 160-kilowatt fast chargers ahead of the holiday.
"The number of charging stations here has increased noticeably compared to last year, and there are clear signs guiding us to them," said Wang Lei, an EV owner who stopped at the service area.
Further down the same expressway, the Hongze Lake service area in Jiangsu's Huai'an City underwent a major upgrade to its charging infrastructure.
The total charging capacity was increased to 2.5 times its original level to alleviate long queues and reduce wait times for EV drivers.
In Meishan City in southwest China's Sichuan Province, power service teams visited restaurants and entertainment venues near tourist attractions to educate local businesses on safe electricity use, wildfire prevention, and the protection of power infrastructure.
Meanwhile, grid operators optimized power distribution strategies to ensure stable electricity supply for both tourist sites and EV charging facilities.
"During the combined National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, electricity demand in scenic areas has increased significantly. We have conducted comprehensive inspections of power supply lines, charging stations, and surrounding businesses to fully ensure safe and stable electricity supply, allowing tourists to enjoy a comfortable and worry-free visit," said Xiang Dewen, a staff member from the State Grid Renshou County Power Supply Company in Meishan.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated annually on the 15th day of the eighth month on the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, when the moon is full. It falls on Oct. 6 this year, coinciding with the National Day holiday.
China's National Day holiday travel rush fuels demand for EV charging
The continuing conflict between Israel and Lebanon has not only displaced people from their homes, but also pushed farmers off the land they depend on in the south of the country, as an estimated 80 percent have stopped working due to damaged fields, unsafe roads, and fears of contamination.
Despite Israel and Lebanon agreeing last Thursday to a three-week extension of an original 10-day ceasefire deal which began between in mid-April, deadly Israeli strikes have continued to hit southern parts of Lebanon, resulting in numerous deaths and widespread damage.
Controversy has also arisen over the Israeli military's efforts to extend the territories it occupies in southern Lebanon as part of what it terms as a "security buffer zone" along the border.
Lebanese residents have been warned against returning to their homes within this area, with Israel announcing that anyone who approaches this so-called "Yellow Line" will be considered a threat.
However, in spite of these difficulties, some farmers in the southern city of Tyre are trying to keep their connection to the soil alive.
A group of women have been bravely planting on borrowed land, because their own is now too dangerous to reach. Here, there are growing herbs such as basil, sage, rosemary, mint and thyme in neat rows.
For displaced local farmer Zainab, who hails from the border town of Naqoura, this field is not home, but it is where she has found a way to keep going amid times of crisis.
"I was displaced from my own land. I'm a farmer. I used to farm my land in Naqoura, so I started farming here, too. As you know, most of us from the south are farmers. Agriculture is the main thing we do," she said.
Across southern Lebanon, roughly 80 percent of local farmers have stopped working either because they are unable to reach their land or they fear it is no longer safe.
More than 17,000 farmers have been affected, with their fields damaged by shelling, fires, bulldozing, and contamination.
Officials have condemned the Israeli attacks on the region which have put the livelihood of ordinary people at risk and have cost some innocent civilian their lives.
"Under the recent acts of aggression, there was difficulty for the farmers to get to their lands. Most of the times they would even be targeted. I know some farms owners who hired workers to harvest the crops -- as a result, unfortunately, some of them were killed," said Alwan Charafeddine, the Deputy Mayor of Tyre City.
Agriculture is a key part of the Lebanese economy, but also the backbone of daily life in the south of the country. The region produces staples like olives, citrus, tobacco and vegetables, and when farmers are forced off their land, the consequences are felt across the country.
"I left the land. I left the crops I had planted, which, according to the season, were cabbage, cauliflower, fava beans and peas. More than leaving the land, I left my whole life behind, and now I'm here," said Zainab.
"After the targeting of the bridge that connected Tyre with Sidon, it became hard to get many of the supplies we used to get through there, which has caused the prices of agricultural products to rise," said the deputy mayor.
But amid these hard times, a glimmer of hope remains. On land belonging to local authorities, the Seeds of Tyre project is giving displaced women work, a source of income, and an outlet which allows them to pass on their skills.
Using donated seeds of aromatic herbs, they are producing basil and rose water and orange blossom, generating a small economy which is taking root in the middle of a much larger loss.
For Zainab, working the soil here offers some stability at a time of conflict, with this temporary field helping farmers tick over as they wait for safe access to their own land.
Farmers turn to temporary fields as swathes of land destroyed in southern Lebanon
