- By Vinson Chao Yu, east Auckland community advocate
“但愿人长久，千里共婵娟” 苏轼
“Dàn yuàn rén cháng jiǔ, qiān lǐ gòng chán juān”
“May we all be blessed with longevity, so we can share the moon’s beauty across thousands of miles.” – Su Shi
“举头望明月，低头思故乡” 李白
“Jǔ tóu wàng míng yuè, dī tóu sī gù xiāng”
“I raise my head to gaze at the bright moon, then lower it, lost in thoughts of home.” – Li Bai
These classic poetic lines perfectly capture the essence of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
If you’re learning Chinese, I highly recommend remembering them.
In the blink of an eye, the Mid-Autumn Festival of 2025 has arrived.
It’s been 25 years since I first stepped in New Zealand. I still remember arriving around this very festival time.
Back then, I had just finished university in Shanghai and embarked on my journey to Auckland alone.
I still remember when my plane first landed in New Zealand. I looked out the window and saw endless green farms.
“Did I come to the wrong country?” I asked myself.
Now, when I go back to China, I sometimes feel the same kind of confusion – but in reverse.
Everything moves so fast there: bright skyscrapers, people playing with their phones for everything, a rhythm of life that feels both impressive and unfamiliar.
From being a student, to starting a business, building a family, and now serving the community – I have changed.
Reflecting on the past two decades, I see how Auckland’s Mid-Autumn Festival has evolved too.
Today, when you walk into supermarkets, you’ll find a much wider variety of mooncakes than before, in all kinds of flavours and packaging.
At local restaurants, it’s common to see friends from diverse ethnic backgrounds gathering to enjoy traditional festive foods.
More people across communities are joining Mid-Autumn celebrations, local schoolchildren and teachers are making lanterns to mark the occasion, and media coverage of the festival continues to grow.
Even among friends and colleagues, Mid-Autumn greetings are now warmly exchanged.
All of this shows how New Zealanders have continued to embrace traditional cultural festivals from around the world – something truly wonderful for everyone to see.
The way Kiwi families value whānau (family) is a lot like how we Chinese value family reunion during Mid-Autumn.
And the Māori idea of manaakitanga – caring for others – is just like how we share mooncakes and blessings.
New Zealand is a country where many people come from somewhere else. In fact, more than one in four people here were born overseas.
The Government and local government even run special weeks to celebrate different languages and cultures.
That says a lot about what kind of country this is.
To me, Mid-Autumn Festival is no longer just a Chinese thing. It’s becoming part of New Zealand, too.
When the moon is full over Auckland, it feels like it’s shining on all of us – no matter where we came from.
We may have different stories, but under the same moon, we share the same hope – for peace, for happiness, and for being together.
