On September 7, in the advent of the traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, the Party and Government Office of Weihai International Port Economic and Technical Development Zone, Shandong Province organized a DIY activity themed around “Spending Mid-Autumn Festival in a Foreign Country”, and invited students from Weihai China-World Foreign Children’s School to make moon cakes in Linquan Community of Caomiaozi Town, so that they can experience the Chinese traditional festivals and strengthen cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.
During the activity, five foreign students from Korea, Germany and Mexico and community volunteers gathered to exchange their festival customs, and the scene was very harmonious. As it was the first time for the students to make moon cakes, volunteers taught them how to make moon cakes perfectly.
“Spread the dough flat, put the stuffing on it, wrap it up and knead it round”, Bi Kexiu, a volunteer from Linquan Community, demonstrated the process and instructed the students how to make moon cakes. The students also picked up the dough and chestnut stuffing from the table and started their own production journey. “Put the kneaded moon cake into the moon cake mold, use your favorite pattern, gently push, and the moon cake will be formed”, she continued.
Under her guidance, the students quickly made two large plates of moon cakes and sent them to the oven. After a while, the fragrance wafted out of the oven, and everyone sat around and discussed their activities.
“This is my first time we are participating in this kind of activity. Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival in China. Moon cakes mean reunion. It is very interesting and meaningful to do it myself for the first time,” Dario from Mexico said.
With the hot moon cakes coming out, the students wanted to taste them and congratulated one another for successfully baking delicious moon cakes. After the event, five foreign students said that the activity was very meaningful. They would show their achievements to their relatives and introduce them to Chinese traditional festivals. At the same time, the activity sparked their interest in understanding China and learning Chinese culture, and they were willing to serve as a “bridge” for friendly exchanges with China.
