More than 11,000 Shenzheners climbed the Yangtai Mountain in Bao'an District yesterday to celebrate the traditional Double Ninth Festival that fell on Oct. 30 this year.

The Double Ninth Festival is the day when China honors its elderly. The festival dates back to before the Eastern Han Dynasty, and in contemporary times is an occasion to appreciate chrysanthemums and climb mountains.

Climbers were required to collect trash on the Yangtai Mountain and place it in bags.

For the first time in eight years, the organizers canceled the traditional mountain-climbing competition due to safety concerns.

"We received tens of thousands enquiry calls and registration," said a spokesman surnamed Han for the district's information office.

Those who undertook the climb were able to view a photography exhibition on Hakka culture at the third stop, and received souvenirs at the sixth stop.

Separately, 990 people above the age of 60 in Shiyan Subdistrict in Bao'an were treated to a Hakka-style big basin dish banquet.

The first Yangtai Mountain Climbing Festival was held in 1997. Since then it has attracted more than 80,000 people from Shenzhen, other cities in the Pearl River Delta region and even foreign countries.

The 587-meter Yangtai Mountain has over 2,400 steps and takes about 70 minutes to scale.

Editor: Yan