China's transit systems are handling a nationwide return travel rush on the last day of the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, which runs from Friday to Sunday.
China's railway system is expected to handle 16.86 million passenger trips on Sunday. Many railway stations have opened all ticket-check and security-check channels, with each verification and security-check area featuring a "caring/urgent passenger" channel that provides priority entry for passengers whose trains depart within 15 minutes.
During the holiday, many travelers have also taken sightseeing trips by car, resulting in traffic flows briefly concentrating in popular tourism cities, scenic spots, and surrounding areas. Return traffic to large and medium-sized cities is expected to peak from around 16:00.
The civil aviation sector is expected to handle 2.1 million passengers on Sunday, while waterways across the country are projected to carry over 813,000 passenger trips.
Transportation authorities across the country increased capacity deployment and coordinated effective connections between road passenger transport, urban public transport, and rail and civil aviation.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, falls on Friday this year. Across China, people celebrate the day by gathering for moon-gazing, eating mooncakes, and lighting colorful lanterns.
China sees return travel rush as Mid-Autumn festival holiday comes to end
A wide range of Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations have been held across China over the past few days, immersing people in a rich festive atmosphere and offering them a chance to feel the unique charm of traditional Chinese culture.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, traditionally a time for family reunion and moon viewing, fell on Friday this year, with a three-day public holiday running from Sept 25 to 27.
The Qingming Shanghe Garden in Kaifeng City, central China's Henan Province, is an antique cultural theme park based on the legendary art work "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" by Song Dynasty (960-1279) painter Zhang Zeduan. It presented Song Dynasty street scenes with live-action performances and interactive activities on Friday night, making visitors feel like they were traveling inside the painting.
In Tongren City of southwest China's Guizhou Province, the Zhongnanmen Ancient Town, a scenic spot that retains many well-preserved buildings dating back to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, has staged a series of theatrical performances and intangible cultural heritage exhibitions, captivating crowds of visitors.
"We were overwhelmed, because it's our first time watching an intangible cultural heritage drama in the old town," said Wan Fen, a visitor.
In Sanya City of south China's Hainan Province, more than 20 international tourists gathered to make mooncakes together. While learning about the history of the traditional festival, they also shared about family reunion traditions in their own cultures.
In Xiamen City of east China's Fujian Province, a mooncake dice event has brought together more than 1,000 participants from across the Taiwan Strait to celebrate the festival and experience the joy of the centuries-old folk custom.
"Sharing the same Mid-Autumn Festival and common cultural traditions, we can truly feel here that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are of the same family," said Lin Yijun, a participant from Taiwan.
In Shenzhen City of south China's Guangdong Province, a performance of Shatoujiao fish lantern dance -- a national-level intangible cultural heritage passed down for 300 years, lit up the Shatoujiao Street, adding a poetic touch to Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations.
In Liuzhou City of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the Longtan Park integrated festival traditions with new technologies to diversify festival offerings for visitors, holding innovative activities such as parades featuring ethnic minority customs, lantern riddle guessing activities with AI-powered robots, and stunt shows by robot dogs.
At nighttime, more than 200 performers presented a live-action show at the park, staging classic scenes such as Chang'e -- the goddess of moon in a famous Chinese legend, flying to the moon.
Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations across China blend tradition, technology, cultural exchange
