The ancient village of Hongcun in Yixian County, east China's Anhui Province held a dazzling lantern parade on Sunday night to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, bringing locals and visitors together to enjoy the holiday.
As night fell, a long procession of hundreds of lantern bearers wound through the stone lanes of the thousand-year-old village like a glowing dragon. Lanterns shaped like Chinese zodiac animals and mythical sacred animal qilin moved through the lanes to the beat of drums.
Visitors admired the moon shimmering on the water, watched fireworks illuminate the ancient rooftops, and immersed themselves in the festive atmosphere.
"It’s so romantic here. Watching the lantern parade moved me to tears," said a tourist.
The Mid-Autumn lantern parade has been a cherished local tradition in Hongcun for generations. This year's celebration blended traditional customs with new interactive experiences such as lantern-making workshops and poetry recitals, inviting visitors to savor the cultural charm of this ancient place.
The festival, celebrated annually on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, falls on Monday this year.
Ancient village in Anhui lights up for Mid-Autumn Festival with lantern parade
Ancient village in Anhui lights up for Mid-Autumn Festival with lantern parade
Ancient village in Anhui lights up for Mid-Autumn Festival with lantern parade
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.
Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.
Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.
"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.
The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.
Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar
