The 7th Strait Hakka Mid-Autumn Festival Gala is held on Sept 20 in Longyan, East China's Fujian province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a variety of festive activities have brought compatriots from both sides of the Taiwan Strait together to celebrate reunions and strengthen bonds of kinship.

The 7th Strait Hakka Mid-Autumn Festival Gala was held on Sept 20 in Longyan, East China's Fujian province, the ancestral home of the Hakka people. The event brought together Hakka compatriots from Taiwan, Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi provinces to celebrate the upcoming festival.

Chen Wei-ju, a Taiwan singer and music producer whose great-grandfather was a Hakka migrant from the Chinese mainland to Taiwan, brought nine Taiwan singers to perform at the gala this year and seek their roots through music.

"The shared Hakka culture and dialect closely bind the two sides together," Chen said.

Chou Yi-hsin, another Hakka singer from Taichung, Taiwan, said singing together in the Hakka dialect and exchanging ideas with Hakka people from different regions was "a truly joyful experience".

The 7th Strait Hakka Mid-Autumn Festival Gala is held on Sept 20 in Longyan, East China's Fujian province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Chang Hsu-yang, a Taiwan soccer player who joined the Longyan team for the ongoing Fujian city soccer league, shared his story onstage. He said the festive atmosphere was fantastic, bringing everyone together and making him feel right at home.

Huang Qin, general director of the gala, said artists from diverse Hakka regions had gathered for the event.

"Everyone sang the same song and appreciated the same moon, which greatly promoted deeper exchanges," Huang said.

In recent years, Longyan has leveraged its status as the Hakka ancestral home to deepen grassroots exchanges through cultural activities, ancestral root-seeking programs and sports events.

Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations across the Chinese mainland, including in Shandong, Fujian, Henan, and Anhui provinces, are bringing thousands of compatriots from both sides together through galas, cultural tours and traditional folk activities.

Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, welcomed Taiwan compatriots to join the vibrant Mid-Autumn celebrations on the mainland at a news conference on Sept 23.

"I wish everyone can share the same moon and enjoy a cup of tea with their families," she said.