Farmers' harvest festival highlights agricultural tradition, boosts rural economy

BEIJING, Sept. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on the Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival:

Many countries have interesting festivals related to agriculture. Events are held to commemorate the material and mental wealth created by agricultural civilization. Typical festivals celebrated around the world include America's Thanksgiving Day and Dozynki, or the Polish harvest festival. This year, China established a similar festival -- the Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival. This is the first of its kind in the country, and will be celebrated annually on the autumn equinox as calculated under the Chinese lunar calendar, usually around Sept. 23.

During the festival, various activities will be held across the country, such as allowing tourists to help gather in the crops, agricultural product exhibitions and farming skill competitions. Some regions will host special folk cultural events like a "fishing festival," "new rice festival" and "pomegranate festival."

In the ancient times, wise Chinese created 24 solar terms after observing climate changes. They recorded the changes of time and climate, as well as the rules of agricultural production. Of them, the autumn equinox is harvest time. It also marks the beginning of a new round of farming activities. There is an old Chinese proverb describing the scenes on that day. It goes: "White clouds float in the sky on autumn equinox day. People all over the country sing happily as they begin to sow seeds." Designating this day as the Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival reflects respect and observance of ancient wisdom and traditions.

China is a large agricultural country with a long history of farming culture. Our ancestors started planting rice and raising pigs, chickens, ducks and horses several thousand years ago. "Qi Min Yao Shu," or "Important Arts for the People's Welfare," an agricultural encyclopedia of the sixth century compiled by Jia Sixie, is one of the earliest monographs in world agronomy. It records in detail intensive and meticulous nature of farming, seed selection and other agricultural technologies. It is crystallization of ancient Chinese people's hard work and accumulated wisdom. And the idea it conveys that agriculture is fundamental to the building of a nation, has also come down to us from ancient times.

Thousands of years of agricultural practice has impacted greatly on China's social structure and overall cultural life. This was where China's reform and opening-up started 40 years ago. Today, rural areas, containing about half of China's population, still form the most extensive development frontier and market space in the country. Currently, the government is seeking to re-energize agriculture and increase farmers' incomes by means of improving exchanges and connectivity between urban and rural areas and bringing into full play farmers' initiative. This can also create more market opportunities and stabilize employment at the same time.

While the people try to restore their memories of the land, farming and the efforts of their ancestors, as well as inherit traditional culture and ancient wisdom and focus on balanced and sustainable economic and social development, Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival hopefully will act as a cultural symbol reflecting the high hopes of the Chinese people for their future.

China Mosaic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

Farmers' harvest festival highlights agricultural tradition, boosts rural economy
http://www.china.org.cn/video/2018-09/20/content_63673569.htm

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