Chinese, US embassies share joys of festival

"I want to say as an American in China how much I appreciate seeing actual diplomacy in action. So important to keep communication between our countries open for improved understanding. Thank you Ambassador, and best wishes to all my Chinese and American friends during the holiday," Peter Jolicoeur, a Shanghai-based aviation consultant, wrote on Twitter after watching the video.

While the US embassy marked the festival by savoring the food on thought, the Chinese embassy had a savory way to observe the Mid-Autumn Festival: making mooncakes, the traditional delicacy reserved for Aug 15 on the lunar calendar.

Nearly 200 people, mostly students from Sidwell Friends School, their teachers and family were invited to the embassy in Washington to learn how to make mooncakes from rows of colorful ingredients and pastries.

In addition to the savors, the guests watched tea ceremonies, and performances of Chinese folk music, dance and martial arts.

They also had a chance to try on calligraphy, paper-cuts and paint Peking Opera makeups and classic round fans.

Ambassador Qin Gang, who made mooncakes with a group of students at a table, said China's Mid-Autumn Festival is similar to America's Thanksgiving Day. It stands for harvest.

The festival also stands for reunion, being known as the "Reunion Festival".

On this day, Chinese families would get together to share mooncakes, recite Chinese poems like "Though thousands of miles apart, we share the same beautiful moon", and tell the fairy tale about Chang'e flying to the moon.

"What we express is a hope and pursuit of reunion and happiness, and our thoughts of our loved ones who are not with us," he said.

At Saturday's event, two US students recited "Night Thoughts", another famous moon-related poem by renowned poet Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

The performance won applause from other students, who recited in choirs the famous lines from the poem by Su Shi:

"May we live a long life,

Share the same moon though thousand miles apart."