The plaque awarding ceremony for the Xiandu Scenic Spot to be an official venue for cultural exchanges between Chinese mainland and Taiwan is held on Oct 14. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A grand ceremony paying tribute to Huangdi, a legendary ancestor of the Chinese nation, was held at the Xiandu Scenic Spot in Jinyun county – administered by Lishui city in East China's Zhejiang province – on Oct 14.

The day also marked the Chongyang Festival, or the Double Ninth Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday to honor and respect elders.

Before the opening of the ceremony, a plaque awards ceremony for the Xiandu Scenic Spot to be an official venue for cultural exchanges between Chinese mainland and Taiwan was held.

This is the sixth cross-Straits cultural exchange venue in Zhejiang and the first in Lishui.

The venue is expected to play a positive role in expanding cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation, bringing people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits closer together. 

The memorial ceremony for Huangdi in Jinyun dates back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420). In 1998, Jinyun county resumed the Huangdi worship ritual and the event was included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011.

The Xiandu Scenic Spot, as the main venue for the ceremony, attracts Taiwan compatriots every year. In the 23 years since the ceremony resumed, more than 3,000 Taiwan people have paid visits to Jinyun.