China bustles with colorful activities during National Day holiday

The eight-day National Day holiday in China, which began on Wednesday, has sparked a wave of vibrant activities across the country, enhancing travel experiences and filling the air with festive cheer.

Usually a seven-day break starting on Oct 1 and known as "Golden Week", this year’s holiday was extended to eight days as it coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival. Crisp autumn weather is drawing people into nature to savor the season. In Ejin Banner, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, desert poplars are turning golden, attracting tourists from across the country.

In northeast China’s Jilin Province, Changbai Mountain has upgraded its scenic infrastructure with new boardwalks and expanded viewing platforms, improving crowd flow and enhancing the visitor experience.

In southwest China's Qinghai Province, the Chaka Salt Lake is crafting a fresh holiday experience with diverse offerings that invite tourists to stay longer and immerse themselves in the plateau’s unique salt lake charm.

Meanwhile, Beijing's top municipal parks teamed up to offer more than 100 events and sightseeing routes, pulling in 2.62 million visitors in just the first four days of the holiday.

In Gangkou Town, Anhui Province, village sport games had tourists and locals racing through the farmland.

Libraries and museums were packed during the holiday as well. In the Xiong'an New Area in north China's Hebei Province, the brand-new library logged more than 15,000 readers in a single day.

A new large-scale bookstore in Shenzhen City, south China's Guangdong Province, collected more than 300,000 hand-picked titles, bringing a new reading experience to local residents and tourists.

In Pingtang County, home to China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish and most sensitive radio telescope, visitors to the astronomy experience center has almost tripled during the holiday.

In Harbin City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, lantern-lit ice sculptures carved with dragons, phoenixes and other Chinese motifs keep selfies snapping long after dark.

Down in Heyuan City, Guangdong, a glowing fish-lantern parade glided along the Xinfeng River, turning the waterfront into a three-stage stage -- water, land and sky -- for a pyrotechnic ballet of fire, fountains and neon that left onlookers wide-eyed.

This year, China's National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday runs from Oct 1 to 8.

China bustles with colorful activities during National Day holiday

More than 21,000 head of livestock in Shihezi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, are being moved to lush summer pastures in the Tianshan Mountains, with local authorities carrying out parasite dipping treatments and emergency trail repairs to guarantee a smooth transfer amid frequent mountain rainfall.

Guided by veterinary technicians, herders in Ziniquan Town of Shihezi City first drove their flocks through medicated bathing pools to eliminate external parasites and reduce the risk of disease transmission.

Following this health check, the herds began a 60-kilometer trek from Ziniquan spring pastures, located at an altitude of less than 1,000 meters, to the Daniugou summer pastures over 3,000 meters above sea level.

For local herders, the annual summer relocation is a necessary step as vegetation in the lower-altitude spring pastures has been depleted. "There's no grass left in the [spring] pastures, so our cattle and sheep have to move [to the summer pastures] deep in the mountains. We couldn't get there without the bridge repairs since the routes are too dangerous," said Bihaazi Tuohuzibai, a local herder.

The entire summer transfer was originally scheduled to conclude by early July. However, recent heavy rainfall in the mountainous areas has swelled river waters, causing varying degrees of damage to sections of herding trails and bridges.

To minimize disruption to the migration schedule, local work teams have been traveling alongside the migrating herds, carrying wooden planks, reinforcing fasteners and repair tools to carry out prompt on-site maintenance.

Frontline repair workers note that there is no room for delay even in harsh rainy weather, as the migration schedule is tight.

"We'll keep working no matter how heavy the rain gets. The livestock transfer is underway these days. If we put off repairs on rainy days, the damaged bridges could lead to accidents," said Ayiding, a staff member from Shihezi Huayuan Town.

To date, all six damaged bridges along the mandatory summer migration routes have been fully restored, eliminating potential safety hazards along the journey. The transfer of the 21,000 head of livestock is progressing on schedule, with the final batches of animals recently setting out under local support and protection.

Xinjiang herders start summer livestock transfer amid road repairs