Ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of China's traditional festivals, Zaozhuang Vocational College of Science and Technology in east China's Shandong Province held a mooncake-making event to share the customs of the festival and its embodied cultural significance of "reunion" with foreign students.
In a warm and joyful atmosphere, Chinese and foreign teachers and students gathered around tables, kneading dough, wrapping fillings, pressing the dough into molds, and carefully removing the finished mooncakes from the molds. A pastry chef demonstrated the entire mooncake-making process and provided step-by-step guidance and hands-on help.
The international students who were making mooncakes for the first time were excited and fully engaged in the activity. Although they were initially a little awkward, they gradually got the hang of it.
Before long, beautifully shaped and delicately patterned mooncakes were made, with fillings ranging from red bean paste and salted egg yolk to mixed nuts. Each flavor carried the simple yet heartwarming Chinese wish for family reunion associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival.
"This is my first time making mooncakes by myself. The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is so much fun," said Murodova Safina Ulughbekovna, an international student from Tajikistan, holding up the mooncakes she had just made.
The Chinese students became "little cultural teachers" at the event, patiently explaining the process and demonstrating different techniques to foreign students.
A mooncake can serve as a bridge between cultures. By incorporating traditional Chinese culture into international exchange on campus, the event enabled international students to experience Chinese traditions through hands-on activities and gain a deeper understanding of the unique charm of the traditional festival.
The sweet mooncakes were more than a delicious treat. They also served as a vehicle for cultural exchange and mutual understanding, witnessing the cross-border friendship among young people from China and around the world.
Going forward, the college will continue to make use of traditional festivals as platforms for international exchange, further promoting mutual learning and understanding between Chinese and other cultures, telling China's stories and sharing the voice of Zaozhuang with the world. (Edited by Li Xueqing with Xinhua Silk Road, lixueqing@xinhua.org)
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