Foreigners in China get a taste of mooncakes
在華外國友人品嘗中國月餅

China's Mid-Autumn Festival falls on September 27 this year. Chinese people mark the festival by getting together with their families and eating mooncakes. Though the festival is still two weeks away, some foreigners have already gotten in on the fun by taking part in a mooncake making competition.

The Mid-Autumn festival is one of the most important in China, second only to the Lunar New Year.

It would not be a proper celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival without mooncakes. This baked treat, with various flavors, is an indispensable part of the traditional festival. The round shape of mooncakes represents unity, one of the most important themes for Chinese people.

There are plenty of ingredients in a traditional mooncake, including eggs, lotus seeds and different kinds of nuts. Competition participants need to cover the balls filled with the ingredients with dough skins, then mold them into a special pattern.

It was not the first time the foreigners had tasted this special Chinese dessert, with many of them having been in the country for years, but not many have tried to make them on their own.

After their first attempt, the foreigners invite their Chinese peers to make some mooncakes together; the group who makes the best mooncake in the fastest time being the winner. But many believe it is not the winning that is important, but instead to give the mooncakes as a special gift ahead of the festival.

After the competition, the participants learned to use a Chinese writing brush to put their wishes on red lanterns, another Chinese tradition.