Villagers sort out chili peppers in Donglang Township of Congjiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Sept. 15, 2022. Chinese farmers' harvest festival, which coincides with the Autumn Equinox each year, falls on Sept. 23 this year. [Photo by Wu Dejun/Xinhua]

CHENGDU, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) — Hundreds of millions of Chinese farmers celebrated the fifth harvest festival on Friday, as the country expects a bumper harvest despite COVID-19 and extreme weather.

After overcoming the impact of last year's rare autumn floods in the north, late sowing of winter wheat, the sporadic resurgences of COVID-19 cases, and severe heat and drought in some southern regions, China has seen output increases in summer grain and early rice and is expecting another bumper harvest this year.

At an agri-expo park in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, one of the venues of this year's harvest festival celebration, residents from Xinjin District attended several farming-themed activities on Friday morning, such as product exhibitions, ceremonies to award "best-performing farmers," and fitness competitions.

"Thanks to technological advances, I have reaped bumper tangerine harvests and witnessed an increase of annual income these years," said Tan Jing, a participant who owns a tangerine planting area of over 2,000 mu (about 133.33 hectares) in Jinlong Village of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province.

Initiated in 2018, the Chinese farmers' harvest festival coincides with the autumnal equinox each year, which is one of the 24 solar terms of the Chinese lunar calendar and usually falls between Sept. 22 and 24 during the country's agricultural harvest season.

China's total grain output consists of three parts — early rice, summer grain, and autumn production. Autumn grain production makes up about 75 percent of the annual grain output. The country aims to achieve a grain output of more than 650 billion kg this year.

Aerial photo taken on Sept. 15, 2022 shows villagers sorting out and packaging yellow peaches in Dongjiuzhai Town of Zunhua, north China's Hebei Province. [Photo by Liu Mancang/Xinhua]

Villagers pick kiwi fruits in Qianliang Village of Qicun Township in Zaozhuang, east China's Shandong Province, Sept. 17, 2022. [Photo by Sun Zhongzhe/Xinhua]

Aerial photo taken on Sept. 5, 2022 shows a villager drying sorghum in Shuanghe Village of Kaiyang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province. [Photo by Yuan Fuhong/Xinhua]

Farmers harvest rice in terraced fields in Jiayi Village of Rongjiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Sept. 22, 2022. [Photo by Yang Chengli/Xinhua]

A harvester works in a field in Koudian Town of Yibin District in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, Sept. 21, 2022. [Photo by Zhang Yixi/Xinhua]

Aerial photo taken on Sept. 17, 2022 shows villagers drying rice grains in Wulong Village of Shahe Township in Ganzhou City, east China's Jiangxi Province. [Photo by Zhu Haipeng/Xinhua]

Villagers harvest rice in a paddy field in Shimen Township of Longnan City, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 21, 2022. [Photo by Ran Chuangchang/Xinhua]

A villager shows harvested sweet potatoes in Cangtou Village of Jurong City, east China's Jiangsu Province, Sept. 22, 2022. [Photo by Zhong Xueman/Xinhua]

A villager harvests sorghum in Shangjiang Village of Chun'an County in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 21, 2022. [Photo by Mao Yongfeng/Xinhua]

(Source: Xinhua)