A week of virtual fun has kicked off in the United States in honor of upcoming China's National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival through celebrations highlighting the very best of Chinese-American intercultural exchanges.
The week started Friday evening with launching of a virtual tour of the iconic building of the Chinese embassy in the United States, one of the masterpieces designed by world famous Chinese American architect I. M. Pei.
The culmination of the celebrations will be Chinese National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival Reception and Concert on Oct. 1, featuring, among others, famous pianist couple Lang Lang and Gina Alice Redlinger, and Udi Bar-David and Chen Jiebing of Philadelphia Orchestra.
On the occasion, Chinese ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai and distinguished guests will deliver video messages honoring the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Other highlights of the online celebration week include China-U.S. Musicians Virtual Concert 2020 on Sept. 26, Documentary: My China Story on Sept. 27, Learning by Sharing on Sept. 28, Sharing Stories in the Fight Against COVID-19--My China Album 2020 on Sept. 29 and Embassy Chefs' Gourmet Mooncakes on Sept. 30.
My China Story is a 48-minute TV documentary telling the stories of four Americans in China: Peter S. Crosby, who rode a bicycle from Beijing to Hong Kong in 1994, covering 1,500 miles with plans to ride again in 2019; Lois Conner, a photographer who is obsessed with the Chinese landscape; Liu Heung Shing, first Time Magazine photojournalist stationed in China, where he captured the country's image with his camera in the early 1980s; and Max Horne, a Harvard freshman studying Chinese for 6 years who is most amazed by China's diversity and acceptance.
China's Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, falls on Oct. 1 this year. It is the second most important festival in China after the Chinese New Year and traditionally falls on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar.