Organizers demonstrate on Sunday, August 19, 2007, the process of a prayer ceremony, with 1,000 participants, which is to be held on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. [Photo: newssc.org]

A grand prayer ceremony, with 1,000 participants, is expected to be held on the eve of China's Mid-Autumn Festival in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The organizing committee of the ceremony held a press conference on Sunday, saying that as a tribute to the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics, the grand affair will also call for the renaissance of Sinology or Chinese Studies, reported local news website newssc.org.

It is widely known that Chinese hold family reunions and eat moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival, but actually in ancient China, ancestors would also pray to the moon for blessings. This was a significant part of the festival's celebrations, Zhou Xiaofeng from the organizing committee was quoted as saying.

The tradition should be popularized among us again, especially among the young, to promote Chinese culture, Zhou said.

With an estimated 1,000 participants, the organizing committee is planning to apply to the Guinness World Records.

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on September 25 this year.