Travel In China: Where to admire full moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival

September 15 this year is the fifteenth day of the eighth month in lunar calendar, namely, the Mid-Autumn Day. It is a traditional Chinese festival when families get together, eat mooncakes and enjoy the moon.

So here comes the question: Why do we admire the moon on Mid-Autumn Day?

In the traditional farming calendar, farmers reap in autumn. In ancient times, people dance and drink to celebrate the successful harvest. Our ancestors worshipped Nature. Emperors used to follow the rite of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and to the moon in autumn. Weather-wise, at this time of the year, the air is neither humid nor dry, but fresh. And the sky is pretty clear. The large full moon seems too lovely to pass up.

Here comes another question: Where should we go to spend the upcoming 3-day holiday with loved ones? Where can we appreciate the fullest and most beautiful moon? And how can we avoid the clouds and rain? Here are some answers from China Meteorological Administration's experts after resorting to historical data.

It is reported that where there is no rain, less than 50% cloud cover, a minimum air temperature of 10 C and a lower than 2 wind scale, there will be a moon over cloudless sky or moon accompanied by clouds.

According to weather records from 1951 to 2013, on Mid-Autumn Day, several scenic spots have an over 70% chance of less than 50% cloud cover. They are Tang Paradise in Xi'an, the Palace Museum and Lugou Bridge in Beijing, Laoshan Mountain in Qingdao， Crescent Lake in Dunhuang, Pingtian Lake in Chizhou, Moon Bay in Wuyuan, Mingyue Mountain in Yichun and Slender West Lake in Yangzhou. Of particular note is that the Crescent Lake has had less than 50% cloud cover on Mid-Autumn Day for the past 60 years.

For Guilin's Elephant Trunk Hill, Nanjing's Qinhuai River, Sanya, Leshan's Mount Emei, Hangzhou's West Lake and Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor, the probability of a less than 50% cloud cover on September 15 is 50% - 70%. These places may display a solitary moon or moon playing with clouds.

Both are breathtakingly stunning.

By contrast, due to rainfall or cloudiness, Huangshan Mountain, Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan and Erhai Lake in Dali are not the perfect places for observing the moon.

People in Taiwan, Fujian and Guangdong may blame Typhoon Meranti for ruining their Mid-Autumn routine. According to weather forecasts, Meranti will make landfall in these provinces and bring torrential rain. We kindly suggest you arrange your outings wisely and keep safety in mind.