The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of China's more interesting holidays.

The festival, also referred to as the "August Festival" or "zhongqiu jie," is China's second-largest festival. Lunar New Year is the biggest festival.

People traveling can at Mid-Autumn Festival find affection in the full moon.

Traditionally, it was a festival to celebrate the harvest of fruit, vegetables and grain.

There was abundant food, and it was a time to relax, eat and celebrate.

The tradition of enjoying the moon, eating moon cakes and reuniting with family for a meal dates back to the Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century-256 BC).

There are many beautiful legends about the moon; the most popular being the tale of Chang'e, a legendary beauty who flew to the moon.

According to the story, 10 suns were scorching the earth. A hero, Hou Yi, shot down nine of the suns, saving the Earth.

The Queen Mother of the West rewarded Hou Yi with the elixir of life. Hou Yi gave his wife, Chang'e, the elixir.

One day, when Hou Yi was out, a wicked man, Feng Meng, threatened to hurt Chang'e unless she gave him the elixir.

Chang'e swallowed the elixir. She immediately flew into the sky. She managed to grab her favorite pet, a white rabbit.

Concerned about her husband, Chang'e decided to land on the moon because it was close to the earth. From that day, Chang'e has ruled over the lunar kingdom.

Hou Yi was sad when he realized his wife was gone. He looked into the sky, and was surprised to see the moon was extremely round and bright. He noticed a swaying figure near the moon, which resembled Chang'e.

While sad, the legend adds romance to the festival.

Nowadays, family dinners are the center of the Mid-Autumn day. Most families mark the day with rich feasts.

Families traditionally gather to celebrate and enjoy the full moon.

(China Daily September 20, 2002)