The Palace Museum in Beijing [Photo/IC]

It is reported that where there is no rain, less than 50% cloud cover, a minimum air temperature of 10 C and a lower than 2 wind scale, there will be a moon over cloudless sky or moon accompanied by clouds.

According to weather records from 1951 to 2013, on Mid-Autumn Day, several scenic spots have an over 70% chance of less than 50% cloud cover. They are Tang Paradise in Xi'an, the Palace Museum and Lugou Bridge in Beijing, Laoshan Mountain in Qingdao， Crescent Lake in Dunhuang, Pingtian Lake in Chizhou, Moon Bay in Wuyuan, Mingyue Mountain in Yichun and Slender West Lake in Yangzhou. Of particular note is that the Crescent Lake has had less than 50% cloud cover on Mid-Autumn Day for the past 60 years.

For Guilin's Elephant Trunk Hill, Nanjing's Qinhuai River, Sanya, Leshan's Mount Emei, Hangzhou's West Lake and Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor, the probability of a less than 50% cloud cover on September 15 is 50% - 70%. These places may display a solitary moon or moon playing with clouds. Both are breathtakingly stunning.

By contrast, due to rainfall or cloudiness, Huangshan Mountain, Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan and Erhai Lake in Dali are not the perfect places for observing the moon.

People in Taiwan, Fujian and Guangdong may blame Typhoon Meranti for ruining their Mid-Autumn routine. According to weather forecasts, Meranti will make landfall in these provinces and bring torrential rain. We kindly suggest you arrange your outings wisely and keep safety in mind.