Mid-Autumn Festival

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Zhngqiji kuil!

The second most celebrated festival in China is the Mid-Autumn (Moon) Festival. This holiday
is celebrated on Chinese Lunar calendars 15th day of the 8th month. This year, the Mid-Autumn
festival lies on September 15 and lasts until September 17.
Here are some fun facts about this holiday:
1. You can find mooncakes for 4 yuan, but there are also luxury mooncakes that can cost
up to 2000 yuan for a box of six mooncakes. Ingredients for these mooncakes can include
birds nest, shark fin, expensive tea leaves, abalone, and truffles. Eating mooncakes
symbolize the coming together of families.
2. It is customary to give mooncakes as gifts to family and friends, but in recent years, the
younger generations tend to give digital red envelopes to family and friends as lucky
money. This can be given through WeChat.
3. The largest mooncake was made in Shanghai in 2013. It was bigger than your bed and
weighed 2500 kg.
4. Often assumed to be the brightest and fullest on the Mid-Autumn Festival day, the moon
is not always. However, it can occur within the two days of the harvest moon night.
During these days, the cloud coverage is often low.
5. The Mid-Autumn festival is often celebrated with lanterns. These lanterns can be seen
hanging on trees and houses, or floating in nearby rivers. You will also see Kongming
lanterns, which will fly when the hot air from the burning candles rise.

Three-day break!?!? What now???

1. Oriental Pearl Tower, Jin Mao Tower, and World Financial Center Visit the tall
skyscrapers in Shanghai to view the full moon. The Jin Mao Tower has an observation
deck on the 88th floor and the World Financial Center also has one on the 97th floor. Come
for a panoramic view of Shanghais beautiful city lights, along with the full moon.
2. The Bund With many restaurants and a great view of the Huangpu River, the Bund is
the perfect place to watch the full moon. Might as well hop on a boat and go off into the
moonlight!
3. Zhujiajiao Ancient Town If you are feeling adventurous, venture off to Zhujiajiao
Ancient Town, Chinas Venice, and explore what the town has to offer. It takes roughly an
hour to travel from Shanghai by car. During this time, the town has lanterns hanging from
homes and tea houses, so come and enjoy tea and mooncake.