The Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival will fall on September 18 this year, and this important annual holiday celebration will be an occasion for family reunions among Chinese people.

Chinese families like to get together to eat moon cakes and watch the moon on the evening of the Moon Festival. For people who are a long way from home, this is an occasion when they usually miss their family or partner at home and appreciate the same moon on that sentimental night.

Chinese legend says that the moon is at its brightest and roundest on the mid-autumn day, the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.

Under this bright autumn moon, friendships are made and renewed. It is perfect for a romantic rendezvous. For many years, Chinese poets have written about long lost lovers finding their way back to each other on this special night.

Families enjoy picnics or special dinners. Adults will usually indulge in many different varieties of moon cake while sipping a cup of hot Chinese tea. Along with the delicious moon cakes, children enjoy brightly lit lanterns, puppet shows and lantern processions.

Unlike the eve of the Spring Festival (the last day of the Chinese lunar year) when family members stay at home to wait for the first daybreak of the New Year, Chinese people love to go out on the evening of the Moon Festival.

Beijing has many traditional sites where people have found a good viewing spot to enjoy the full moon on this occasion. Yinding Bridge at Houhai (Rear Lake) and Lugou Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge) are two famous sites to enjoy Mid-Autumn day's moon.

In recent years, many other places have been added to offer dining and entertaining sites for people to enjoy the full moon.

The following are some sites in downtown Beijing and some suburban destinations:

Lugou Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge)

Even from its very inception in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), this bridge was listed by travelers and poets as one of the "Eight Scenic Spots of Yanjing (Beijing)" under the descriptive title "Lugou Xiaoyue" or "Moon Over Lugou at Daybreak." Substitutions and rewordings were made in the listing during the subsequent periods under the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. But "Lugou Xiaoyue" has remained throughout. Now the stone tablet carved with characters of "Lugou Xiaoyue" still stands on guard by the bridge.

In recent years, local people have developed the charm of the Mid-Autumn Festival. A grand party is held in the evening and some performances featuring dances, acrobatics, and songs by popular singers are now put on for visitors.

To enter the bridge, there is an entrance fee of 10 yuan (US$1.2).

To get there, take bus routes 339, 309, 715, 744, 964 or 817 to Lugouqiao. You can also drive to the southwest section of the West Fourth Ring Road to find Lugouqiao Exit. The bridge is about five kilometres west of the West Fourth Ring Road.

Houhai Lake (Rear Lake)

This is a new site that attracts younger people thanks to the newly-opened bar street, the boat trips over lake and in particular the folk interest of the Moon Festival.

Dozens of trendy bars and cafes line the lake and offer some cool nightlife destinations.

Each cafe and restaurant is individually owned and they all have their own unique style and service.

You can have drinks, tea or coffee, food and with so many little places to choose from you can certainly find the right one for you.

Boats decorated with red lanterns cross the lake and you can even hear music from Chinese folk instruments on the boat. Performers are young girls dressed in Chinese traditional costumes.

To get to Houhai Lake, you'd best walk or ride a bike there. Traffic conditions around Houhai are not good, and usually a taxi cannot take you into the bar area. You will have to walk a few minutes along the lane to the bar bank.

Boat trip under the moon

Boat trips from Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace to Yuyuantan Park are being offered by a Beijing local travel company, which usually take one hour for a one-way trip. The cost on the evening of the Moon Festival for the trip will be several times higher than usual, at 300 yuan (US$36). The regular boat trip is around 80 yuan (US$10).

Both Yuyuantan Park and Summer Palace have departure points for the boat trip.

Forbidden City walk

Bikers are also recommended to tour around the ancient imperial palace. Here you will find a good viewing point to watch the full moon over the building tower.

You are advised to take a camera to get some pictures at this stunning location.

Badaling Great Wall

This place is a little further from downtown, but worth the trip.

The Badaling Great Wall will open until 9:30 PM for visitors to enjoy moon watching on the Great Wall.

If you want to come back downtown after climbing the Great Wall, it is best to drive there or rent a taxi. At night times there are no public buses between downtown Beijing and the wall. Also, remember to take some warm clothing. The temperature on the wall in the middle of September is around 14 degrees at night.

The toll fee on the Badaling Highway is 70 yuan (US$8) for a five-seat car for a round trip.

(China Daily September 9, 2005)