Wearing Hanfu (the traditional styles of clothing worn by the Han Chinese), making lanterns, and eating mooncakes... On the advent of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the event “Celebrating Chinese Festivals with International Friends: Reunion of All, Full Moon for Us” was held in Shenyang. The celebration invited six groups of Chinese and foreign families from Ireland, Germany, Yemen, and Iran to experience the traditional culture of the Mid-Autumn Festival and taste traditional Chinese cuisine.

During the event, inheritors of intangible cultural heritage showcased traditional crafts such as Chinese paper-cutting, dough sculpture, and sugar figurines. Their exquisite craftsmanship garnered widespread admiration, and under the guidance of the teachers, attendees eagerly stepped forward to try their hand at these traditional arts.

Shiman, Qihang, and Qifan, three brothers from Yemen, have come to Shenyang successively to study clinical medicine. While the eldest brother, Shiman, arrived in Shenyang a year before his younger brothers, this is their first time celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. “Our home is filled with ‘Made in China’ products, and our parents thought we should come to China to study, so here we are. Through today’s activities, I learned that the Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunion. It is meaningful for me to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together with my brothers in China.”

International friends were also actively involved in activities such as calligraphy writing, making mooncakes, and crafting lanterns. With the guidance of the teachers, they carefully copied the four characters “花好月圆” (blooming flowers and a full moon) and also learned about the beautiful blessings embodied in Chinese characters. Through the teacher’s explanation, everyone learned the symbolism of “reunion” associated with mooncakes. They enthusiastically participated in kneading the dough, filling the stuffing, and pressing the molds, savoring the Mid-Autumn mooncakes they had personally crafted.

Zhang Xiaoai (Patrick McCarthy) from Ireland has been living in Shenyang for 11 years. With his help, his son Xiaoxiaoai (Xiaoai Junior) successfully made mooncakes and lanterns and also performed the traditional Chinese erhu (Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument) masterpiece “Horse Racing” on site, earning him resounding applause. “I truly love Liaoning, the lifestyle here, and the local delicacies like dumplings and Guo Bao Rou (Fried Pork in Scoop). I also love eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The mooncakes today are particularly delicious, so I want to take them home and savor them slowly with my family.”