Yunnan Holds Mid-Autumn Festival Cultural Salon in Vietnam

The “Sharing the Same Moon” Mid-Autumn Festival Cultural Salon was held in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, on September 18. （Photo provided by the hosts）

At the salon, the guests made a variety of snow skin mooncakes themselves using different molds and ingredients like snow skin powder and various fillings. With the help of the staff and DIY guides, they also learned to make Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns with the DIY kits.

“Chinese snow skin mooncakes have a soft, creamy, and slightly chewy texture plus a sweet taste,” said Vietnamese guest Nguyen Phi Long while savoring a mooncake. He added that traditional Vietnamese mooncakes come in dozens of flavors, such as roasted chicken, sausage, and glutinous rice with mung bean. Their flavors differ slightly from those of Chinese mooncakes, yet both countries’ mooncakes feature intricate and beautiful designs on their surface.

Gao Rui from Yunnan got hands-on with lantern making. He said that when strolling on the streets of Hanoi in days, he discovered that the Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival has its own distinctive features, as it is also considered the Children’s Festival. “In the evening, kids hang out in groups carrying diverse lanterns. It’s a truly joyful and beautiful scene,” he noted.

The World Heritage cultural experience area at the salon exhibited a wealth of items showcasing the elements of China’s World Heritage sites, such as fridge magnets, postcards, and bookmarks. The guests were all eager to select their favorite seals featuring the World Heritage sites in Yunnan and stamp the bookmarks, cards, and other items.

The guests showed great interest in taking photos with the World Heritage site installations, such as those featuring the Stone Forest and the Lijiang Ancient Town in Yunnan. While taking a sip of tea from the old tea forests in Jingmai Mountain, a World Heritage site in Yunnan, they enjoyed the impressive tea ceremony performed by a tea master while making tea.

Tran Duc Hung, a guest from Vietnam, has been to Lijiang City of Yunnan. He described Lijiang as a picturesque high-altitude city where the Lijiang Ancient Town and the snowcapped Yulong Mountain constitute a harmonious blend of culture and nature, and humanity and nature coexist in perfect unity. He expressed the desire to revisit China and Yunnan in the future to experience more of the charm of the World Heritage sites.

Chinese acrobats performed diabolo spinning, a national intangible cultural heritage. （Photo provided by the hosts）

Chinese acrobats Chen Haiyan and Jin-Li Yaohui performed diabolo spinning, a national intangible cultural heritage, demonstrating the strength and beauty of this traditional acrobatic art that has been passed down for thousands of years.
The Dai paper-cutting, another national intangible cultural heritage, was also a magnet. With the guidance of staff, the guests created their unique paper-cutting works.

“I noticed that the Vietnamese guests are highly interested in Chinese intangible cultural heritage,” said Chen Haiyan. “China has a time-honored and profound civilization. While preserving our Chinese culture, we should also make it better known to the world and share it with others.”

One of most eye-catching parts of the salon was the song and dance performances jointly presented by Chinese and Vietnamese artists and art troupes. “Vietnam and China, connected by mountains and rivers... we share the same river, facing each other and standing together all the time... share the same ideal, share our heart, red flags flying high on the path to victory.” With the signing of the song named “Việt Nam - Trung Hoa” (Vietnam-China) that celebrates the China-Vietnam friendship, the curtain descended on the song and dance performances.

Vietnamese guest Nguyen Hong Thuong remarked that the performances of Chinese and Vietnamese artists, by blending traditional culture and modern art, convey the shared aspiration and expectation of the people of the two countries for a better life.