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Elderly residents march to the top of East Sheshan Mountain in Shanghai's Songjiang district on Oct 27. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] |
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Seniors take photos along the road. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] |
Thousands of Shanghai's senior citizens went hiking up the hills in Sheshan National Forest Park to celebrate Double Ninth Festival on Oct 27.
Double Ninth Festival, or Chongyang Festival, which takes place on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month each year, fell on Oct 28 this year.
In Chinese tradition, there are many customs on Chongyang Festival including climbing mountains, hiking and enjoying chrysanthemum flowers. So the festival is also often called the mountain-climbing festival.
The festival also celebrates the elderly and offers younger people the opportunity to show respect for their contributions.
More than 11,000 elderly residents from 16 districts in Shanghai wearing red waistcoats began their climb at 9 am.
The elderly climbers were still full of energy during the hike, though most of them were in their sixties. With the help of volunteers, they moved methodically toward the top of the mountain and sometimes took photos with each other on the way.
Some also went to the Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden to enjoy the stunning autumn scenery after the end of the climb.
