The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of China"s most important traditional holidays, falling on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, usually in September or October. At the time, the full moon is at its brightest, and families gather to eat mooncakes, admire the moon and celebrate togetherness. The round shape of the mooncake echoes the full moon and symbolizes family unity.

　　That cultural weight is visible in catering data and orders of mooncakes. The group-buying orders for catering services during the festival rose about 80 percent on Douyin, with orders related to "Mid-Autumn Festival reunion feast" up 105 percent year-on-year.

　　Meanwhile, searches for mooncake and festival gift boxes surpassed 6 million on Douyin. Sales of mooncakes rose 157 percent, while sales of pastry gift boxes increased 246 percent.

　　Consumption patterns are shifting in parallel. On one e-commerce platform, searches for low-sugar mooncakes jumped 320 percent. Shoppers are paying more attention to taste and health than to elaborate packaging.

　　Going home remains central, yet a growing number of Chinese consumers are also using the holiday to travel for pleasure - and the way they travel is changing. Nearly 60 percent of bookings during the holiday were for local or short-haul trips. Many people first returned home for a reunion dinner, then took a short break nearby, according to a report provided by domestic platform Tongcheng Travel to the Global Times on Sunday.

　　Ticket booking orders for local sightseeing and scenic spots grew by 17 percent year-on-year, with lantern shows, ancient town parades and cultural museums popular choices among young people and family outings.

　　According to media reports, tickets to many museums during the holiday had been fully booked before the Mid-Autumn Festival, while many scenic spots introduced visitor limits.