After the fourth and fifth rounds, Hou Yifan and Zhao Xue were first joined in the lead by Anna Muzychuk in round four, and then by Tan Zhongyi and Ruan Lufei in round five. The rest day, after the fourth round, coincided with a special Chinese holiday that celebrates the moon's brightest and most beautiful appearance in the year, including colorful festivities around it. A beautiful pictorial.

Rest day

On 11th of September the players enjoyed a day off. Most of the participants, trainers and organizers embarked on the rest-day’s activities but some preferred to stay in the hotel and relax before the next games. The organizers of the Grand Prix launched some special agenda for the participants. In the morning twelve, twelve players visited one of the sponsors of the tournament. – Xiang Yun Sha. It is a fashion company which makes clothes from special silk called xiang yun sha. It is an intangible cultural heritage of China. The sponsor provided each player with dresses and flowers.

After the launch, all participants and companions had a chance to visit the Oct East Theme Park. It is a theme park that was opened in summer of 2007, but it's a bit hard to categorize. OCT is one of the biggest real estate companies in Shenzhen that managed to buy an area of about nine square kilometres in the east of Shenzhen. The main attractions are the three major theme parks: Knight Valley, Tea Stream Valley and Wind Valley. There is also a huge golf course, hotels and real estate.

In the Chinese lunar calendar tradition, the seventh, eighth and ninth months comprise Autumn. During fall, the skies are commonly clear and cloudless and the nights crisp and sharp. In these night sky conditions, the moon appears to be at its brightest. 

During this period the festival celebrates the moon's appearance as the brightest and most beautiful throughout the year. As the holiday coincided with the Grand Prix, so all guests has the opportunity to enjoy the tradition and enjoy the moon during the evening. It is customary here to spend time with your friends and family and sit outside under a starless sky, gazing at the moon. This ancient Chinese tradition goes back nearly 1,400 years!

Besides the obvious, moon-gazing, Chinese families celebrate by getting together and eating. After all excursions everybody could enjoy the dinner in a restaurant. Zhu Chen and her parents during the dinner.

From chessbase.com