As the full moon rises, South China's Guangdong province is celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival with a range of regional customs beyond mooncake tasting and moon gazing.

In the areas around Guangzhou, families "Worship the Moon" with offerings like mooncakes, taro and river snails. Children parade with decorative lanterns, while fiery dragon dances in Foshan and Guangzhou energize the streets.

Fiery dragon dances electrify the night. [Photo/Guangdong Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Center]

Hakka communities in Meizhou cherish family reunion. They love "cutting pomelos" for good luck and enjoy salt-baked chicken. Nightfalls bring folk song duels under the moonlight and "Respecting the Moon" ceremonies with seasonal fruits.

Chaoshan area offers unique delicacies like lao bing or crispy pastry and crispy dumplings. Women and children "Worship the Lady Moon" while spectacular tile tower burning ceremonies light up the night.

A tower burning ceremony lights up the night sky. [Photo/Guangdong Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage Center]

Western Guangdong showcases creative treats: Zhanjiang and Maoming's piglet-shape mooncakes in bamboo cages and Yangjiang's sugary sugar chickens. Dynamic dragon dances animate the coastal towns.

Northern Guangdong preserves its ancient rituals. Heyuan's simple moonlight cakes and Lianping's Inviting the Moon Sister ceremony — recognized as intangible cultural heritage — maintain their timeless charm. In Shantang village, women sing ancient Moon Sister Songs throughout the festival.

Each tradition reflects Guangdong's rich cultural tapestry, blending reverence with celebration under the shared autumn moon.

A Cantonese mooncake. [Photo/IC]