Shine on, Harvest Moon

The big harvest moon hangs low in the autumn sky. The moon goddess and her rabbit friend are up there. Down here it's a time for family reunions, eating mooncakes, duck and drinking cinnamon wine. 　　

In China, the Mid-Autumn Festival is traditionally an important day for family reunions. People have family dinners, appreciate the round moon and share the special mooncakes. But times change. Chen Qing and Yao Minji ask Chinese and expats about the festival. 　

It was 11 years ago when Daisy Newton Dunn, from London, got to know about Chinese culture, including the Mid-Autumn Festival. 　　

"Mooncake is the first Chinese phrase I learned," recalls the 29-year-old. "When I was in my gap year before university, I traveled to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, to be an English teacher at a school there. I was then 18." 　　

The Mid-Autumn Festival arrives on October 6 this year, preparations are under way, and Dunn is not yet accustomed to her life alone away from home. 　　

"I was homesick then and felt lonely," she recalls. "But there was a piano professor living upstairs in an apartment. He invited me to his flat and treated me a mooncake." 　　

Dunn still remembers the sweet taste of the cake. 　　

She also remembers that professor who kindly taught her the first Chinese word "yue" for the moon. He also told her the round mooncake stands for the round moon and the festival is for reunion of family. 　　

It was then that Dunn began her long-term connection with Chinese tradition and culture. Afterwards, she took her degree at Edinburgh University in Chinese language and culture. 　　

During her study, she had a year's exchange program in Taiwan in 1997. There Dunn tasted her first ice-cream mooncake. People celebrated the festival in a plaza with a red lantern show. 　　

She felt more connected to the atmosphere in Chengdu, however. She says she could feel the history there. 　　

Now Dunn is back in China, bringing a film crew to shoot a documentary on China's changes, reforms and daily life. 　　

It's a shame they will have to leave China before the festival, says Dunn, but they will taste mooncakes, anyway. 　　

Like Dunn, Conrad Clark, who's also from Britain, came to Shanghai last year to shoot his first road trip film in China. As a young director, he is more interested in the origin of the festival. 　　

"A long, long time ago, there was a hero who shot the extra nine suns in the sky for the benefit of the people. The hero had a beautiful wife called 'Chang'e.' She stole the elixir of eternal life from her husband and became a lonely goddess on the moon," says Clark. 　　

Clark seemed to know the Chinese tradition well. He learned about the festival from his Taiwanese friend. He also learned the festival celebrated the annual harvest. 　　

As for the mooncake, Clark says it has a commercial value besides its original function. Loads of mooncake gift boxes or coupons are transferred between relatives, friends, business partners and others. 　　

Inevitably, there is a sense of business in the coming mooncake tide. But Conrad still would like to appreciate the moon for good luck in his film venture. 　　

Pamela King, an older woman from New Zealand, fell in love with Shanghai the first time she spent Spring Festival in the city two years ago. She decided to settle down in the city this year. 　　

King is working as an English teacher and is comfortable with Shanghai as her new home. 　　

She is very interested in the Chinese culture. The lady on the moon, the rabbit who accompanied her, and the auspicious day all intrigued King. 　　

"I have made a friend in the coffee shop near where I live and I shared a mooncake with my friend the other day." 　　

For Emma Chen, from Hubei Province, the festival is a phone call back home to say "happy festival" to her parents. 　　

An editor working in Shanghai, Chen decided to stay in the city for the holiday this year. 　　

"I went to university in Beijing and then went to London to study for one year," she says. 　　

For overseas Chinese students, it is a good time to get together to celebrate. "By watching the same moon, we get over the homesickness," Chen recalls. 　　

Maybe it is only when you are away from home that you feel the essence of it. Chen now has her friends as her "family" in Shanghai. No matter where you are, with loving family and friends, you are never alone. 　（Source: Shanghaidaily.com )