Lunar Reflections: NYU Shanghai Students Experience Mid-Autumn Festival
It’s Mid-Autumn Festival, a holiday when many families gather together to enjoy mooncakes and gaze at the full moon. But what is it like to be away from home during this special time? NYU Shanghai students studying away and in Shanghai share their feelings.
Forrest Haviland ’26
Hometown: Texas, USA
Studying at: NYU Shanghai
Favorite Mooncake Flavor: Red Bean
Forrest Haviland ’26 grew up making and eating mooncakes with his mom, who is from Taiwan. She was a Chinese teacher, and every year she would teach her students how to make mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival. “We didn’t do that many Chinese traditions, but one of the things we always did was she would make mooncakes or walk us through how to make them,” he says. His mom’s homemade red bean mooncakes will always be his standard of what a mooncake should be, he says. “She usually didn't have a mold,” he remembers. It was usually just very plain and circular dough, and she just put red bean in the center and folded it up.”
Haviland says celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival as an adult is different. “I feel like I don't really prioritize it, so sometimes I'll walk by a store and see mooncakes on the display, and I'll remember it's that time of year,” he says. “But I definitely do try to indulge in them when I can, and I always go for the red bean, it’s somewhat sentimental.”
Chen Yingfan ’25
Hometown: Guangzhou, China
Studying at: NYU Tel Aviv
Favorite Mooncake Flavor: Fresh Pork Mooncake
When Chen Yingfan ‘25 thinks of Mid-Autumn Festival, she thinks of time spent with family and friends at the Sports Park on Ersha Island in her hometown of Guangzhou. “We [would] light up lanterns and take a moonlit stroll along the Pearl River,” recalls Chen. Currently studying away at NYU Tel Aviv, she plans to celebrate the holiday with friends, cooking Chinese food and admiring the moon together. Despite the challenge of being away from home during a holiday that centers around family reunion, Chen and her family are excited about the adventures to come in Tel Aviv. “At home, we feel comforted and at ease. Yet, at the same time, we need to venture far to seek new excitement and growth. When I'm far away, knowing that I have blessings from home, I feel empowered.”
Daniel Woc ’26
Hometown: Xela, Guatemala
Studying at: NYU Shanghai
Favorite Mooncake Flavor: Lotus (“Classic, you can never go wrong”)
For Daniel Woc ‘26, whose family has mixed Chinese and Guatemalan ancestry, Mid-Autumn Festival meant a special trip to Guatemala’s capital, where a local Cantonese association would host festivities with big meals, tradional music and classic lotus-filled mooncakes. Woc sees the festival as an opportunity to reconnect with his Cantonese dad’s roots and share Chinese cultural traditions with his Guatemalan family and friends. Since coming to NYU Shanghai, the holiday has only grown more special. “Being here in China has expanded my understanding of the holiday. I get to see more of the tradition that I hold dear to my heart,” he says. This year, Woc is looking forward to reuniting with his dad’s family in Foshan, which hadn’t been possible for the past few years due to COVID-related travel restrictions. Coming to Shanghai, visiting family, and taking part in these celebrations is part of “reconnecting myself with my dad’s roots” he says, and a way to “touch ground with my own identity.”
Yiling Cao ’25
Hometown: Shanghai, China
Studying at: NYU in New York
Favorite Mooncake Flavor: Pork
Yiling Cao ’25 grew up in Shanghai, where the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated with traditional customs such as incense, cricket fights, moonlit walks, and delicious foods that represent ideals such as family unity. “Among the must-have dishes are duck, taro, and edamame,” says Cao. Although she is excited to broaden her horizons while studying abroad in New York, this year is the first Mid-Autumn Festival she’ll celebrate away from home. She plans to cook a Chinese meal with her roommates–and if the weather is clear, they’ll watch the full moon together over the Hudson River.
Phương Anh Nguyễn ’26
Hometown: Hanoi, Vietnam
Studying at: NYU Shanghai
Favorite Mooncake Flavor: just the outer shell
For Phương-Anh Nguyễn ’26, who is from Vietnam, Mid-Autumn Festival is a nostalgic time, with happy memories of her childhood. In primary school, she remembers the school holding a small fair with gift bags, performances, and lion dances. There were even mooncake-making activities. “They never turned out decent, but it was a good experience with friends,” she said. There were performances in the neighborhood, and all the kids dressed up. “It was like a little mini-Halloween,” she remembers, “but the vibe was bright and young and exciting. I used to wear fairy wings and carry little lanterns and star lights around the neighborhood.”
At home, her family would arrange a giant platter with mooncakes, tea, and flowers and take it up to their rooftop. “You’re supposed to enjoy the mooncakes and the tea and snacks with your family and enjoy the moon,” she remembers.
At this time in Vietnam the sidewalks are lined with mooncake stalls. Nguyễn says she calls her family every day and for weeks now they have been showing her mooncakes they’ve been gifted. This year she is looking forward to learning more about China’s traditions. “I want to go into the streets and see how people celebrate it. And my friend is inviting me to her home near Shanghai,” she said.
Jinyu Ji ’25
Hometown: Urumqi, China
Studying at: NYU Berlin
Favorite Mooncake Flavor: salted egg yolk coconut
While Jinyu Ji ’25 is studying away in Berlin this semester, he video calls his family almost every day. “I share my life in Berlin with them, making them feel as if they are here with me,” he said. Usually, Ji and his family spend the Mid-Autumn Festival together. His grandparents cook a delicious meal, and he especially enjoys watching the moon with his grandma. This year Ji plans to look at the moon from Berlin while also video calling his family to see the moon from his hometown of Urumqi. Ji feels that the full moon, whose brightness and roundness represent family unity, can bring them together during this time. “My favorite line from a moon-related Chinese poem is: 'The bright moon rises over the sea, and we share this moment despite being far apart.' My interpretation is: by looking at the same moon with my family, our hearts are reunited.”
Shoko Umemura ’23
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Studying at: NYU Shanghai
Favorite Mooncake Flavor: Custard or Red Bean with Egg
Shoko Umemura ’23, from Japan, says the Mid-Autumn Festival is less of a major holiday and more of a seasonal event there: a time to enjoy the full moon with family and friends. As a child, she would gaze at the full moon with her mom and eat tsukimi dango, a rice cake made especially for the Mid-Autumn Festival. “The moon has certain patterns when you look at it from far away, and people used to say it looks like a rabbit making rice cakes on the moon, so that’s what we eat when we look at the full moon,” said Umemura. As it’s her last semester at NYU Shanghai, Umemura plans to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival here in Shanghai. “We don’t have a long weekend during this time in Japan, so for me, what I feel more is that I’m really in the Chinese culture right now, rather than missing home.” She looks forward to spending more time exploring Shanghai, gathering with friends, and enjoying Chinese mooncakes together.
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