International Celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival

With the full moon shining, year after year, the International Division welcomed the annual Language Students’ Mid-Autumn Festival-themed event, filling the International Division building with a joyful and festive atmosphere.

At the beginning of the new school year, the International Division welcomed new faces among its international students. They hailed from around ten countries and regions, including the United States, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Belarus, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia, and five Italian exchange students for this semester. Nearly 100 students from the international classes of Grade 10, Grade 11 and Grade 12, as well as teachers from the International Chinese Language group, participated in this celebratory event.

First, Director of the International Division, Guo Hongwei, gave the opening speech, delivering his wishes and Mid-Autumn Festival blessings to the students. Then, teachers and students recited Su Shi’s “Shui Diao Ge Tou · Ming Yue Ji Shi You” together. The appropriate verses brought the festive atmosphere to its climax, and the line “May we all live long and share the beauty of the moon even if we are thousands of miles apart” fully expressed longing and wishes for loved ones.

After the recitation, it was time to try calligraphy. Each student chose their favorite Mid-Autumn Festival poem and carefully copied it onto exquisite writing paper stroke by stroke. Those who just began to learn Chinese characters couldn’t hide their excitement and longing. While experiencing the art of Chinese calligraphy, everyone also appreciated the cultural subtleties of the poems through meticulous writing of each word and sentence.

Then, students gathered in the International Division’s first-floor cafeteria, learning to make traditional Mid-Autumn Festival delicacies – the symbolic mooncakes representing unity and reunion. The Chinese language teachers guided everyone on how to make the popular Su-style mooncakes from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Teachers explained about the process and techniques of making mooncakes in detail, and everyone followed the instructions to knead the dough, fill it with fillings of different kinds, press it into shape, and imprint it with the school emblem using a red seal.

During the process, everyone communicated with each other in not-so-fluent Chinese, sharing methods and techniques, and chatting about their daily lives and experiences on campus. Smiles adorned everyone’s faces. The mooncakes were almost done, and everyone started to play joyfully, seeing the white flour on the table. Finally, the well baked mooncakes were shared with the teachers of the International Division, and received unanimous praise.

The Mid-Autumn Festival celebration ended amidst laughter and joy. Although it was short, the essence of “Mid-Autumn” and the deep Chinese friendship it represents left a lasting imprint in the cultural memories of the students.