China Focus: 21th-century moon festival combines old, new

Traditionally people celebrate The Mid-Autumn Festival at home, eating mooncakes with their family. However, this year some of the more adventurous will go up in the sky.

Ahead of the traditional festival, which fell on Sunday -- the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, several domestic airlines organized flights to give people a better view of the full moon .

Shandong Airlines promoted 40 of its 400 domestic flights to passengers wanting a closer view of the glorious full moon. The company even looked into the movement of the moon and allocated passengers the best seats for viewing it.

"Over 300 passengers booked these special seats," said Mao Yi, a clerk with Spring Airlines, which also makes such arrangements.

This sky-high activity is a new experience for Chinese.

Many of the younger generation, especially those who cannot be with their families or friends because of work commitments, have been sending greetings via the popular instant messaging service WeChat.

Despite great social development, the reminiscent still cherish this traditional day of reunion, or "tuanyuan" in Chinese.

"In the past, we were more interested in food. Now, we value the opportunity to catch up with our families," Wang Lamei, a housewife in Luohe, Henan Province.

"We look forward to visiting relatives and eating good food," explained Wang. She said that after supper, a table is set in the yard with fruit and moon cakes, and her family sit and chat into the early hours in the moonlight.

Mooncakes were once a luxury to many during harder times. Traditional cakes, such as those with nut fillings, still strike a chord in the memories of many.

Following years of rapid economic development, mooncakes are so common nowadays that they are no longer the treat that they used to be. They are just a gift that is expected at this time of year.

Due to the frugality and anti-corruption campaign of the past three years, expensive and luxurious moon cakes have lost their appeal. Ordinary ones, which are kinder on the wallets of the buyer, have regained popularity.

"The expensive ones do not sell well anymore," said Li Yan, a saleswoman at a supermarket in the northeastern city of Harbin.

"It is such a shame if we do not see the full moon or eat a mooncake on this auspicious day," lamented Wang Laihua, mooncake mold collector in Tianjin.

Many "left-behind" children in the country's rural areas cannot enjoy the day with their parents who work in cities.

Xian Deping, 12, from the remote southwestern province of Guizhou, will spend the festival with her brother and grandmother. Her father died several years ago and her mother now works in a city to support the family.

"I wish my mother could come back," she said. She does not quarrel with her mother because of this, however, as she understands her family needs the money.

Local officials sent her gifts and greetings on Saturday in an organized activity to extend wishes to left-behind children at this time of year. Endi