I used to think that the meaning of the Mid-Autumn Festival was to travel thousands of miles back to a small home. But after watching many Mid-Autumn festivals, I discovered that the most touching holiday scene is never the solitary perfection under a certain window, but people from different places and different positions, accompanying each other, forming "circles" together. These reunions, large and small, eventually converge into a more complete and warmer home.
This "circle"
It is the "circle" of national unity
On September 23, the Party and Mass Service Center of Chongsaikang Community in Barkhor Street was warm and the mooncakes were fragrant. During the 36th National Unity and Progress Promotion Month, the community held a Mid-Autumn Festival symposium on national unity stories.
Every Mid-Autumn Festival, Chongsaikang Community organizes residents of all ethnic groups to gather together to bring the neighbors closer together through festive gatherings, so that people in the jurisdiction can feel the warmth of the community family in a reunion atmosphere. Ma Yongjun, a Hui businessman and compound leader who has been running the grocery store business in Chongsaikang for more than 30 years, is filled with emotion: "I have lived in the community for more than 30 years and watched the area change with each passing day. Neighbors of all ethnic groups coexist harmoniously, and the community always takes care of each of our residents."
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, Yadui Township, Naidong District, Shannan City, together with the United Front Work Department of the Naidong District Committee, the District Central Hospital, etc., carry out activities with the theme of "Mid-Autumn Festival to promote integration and build a new home together". On the front line of Yasang Village project construction, staff preached about China's excellent traditional culture and feelings about home and country, and guided workers present to enhance their Chinese cultural identity. At the same time, popularize the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Promotion of National Unity and Progress. In addition, medical staff from Naidong District Central Hospital are also conducting free clinics on site.
Recently, the Yanhe Community of Juemu Street, Bayi District, Linzhi City, in conjunction with the Audit Bureau of Linzhi City and the community-based working team, carried out the theme activity of "Full Moon, Full People, Warm Mid-Autumn Festival, Care for the Silver Age, and Enjoy Old Age" at the day care center for the elderly in the area.
The event was warm and welcoming. The publicity on national unity policies and prize-winning quizzes were entertaining and educational. People of all ethnic groups actively participated and deepened their understanding of national unity during the interaction. Later, the hand-making of Tibetan mooncakes brought the atmosphere to a climax - fillings were mixed, molded, and shaped. Everyone collaborated around the table, talked and laughed, and personally created mooncakes with unique plateau characteristics. This immersive experience shortened the distance between neighbors and enhanced national friendship.
This "circle"
It’s the “circle” of border guards
At Kunmujia Post at an altitude of 4,900 meters, the night is already very cold. In March this year, Chen Zongqiang, a recruit from a certain unit of the Tibet Military Region, bid farewell to his parents and relatives and enlisted in the army and came here. According to the holiday preparation requirements, he has to be on duty at the post during the Mid-Autumn Festival. This is also the first time he has spent the festival away from home.
The night on the plateau was extremely quiet. Chen Zongqiang, who was on duty, heard a burst of very light footsteps behind him. His whole body tensed up and he quickly turned around to be on guard. Through the moonlight, he saw clearly that the person coming was the instructor Suolang Tashi.
"Reporting to the instructor! Sentinel Chen Zongqiang is on duty. Everything is normal at the moment. Please give instructions!" His voice was steady and powerful, and his words were sonorous. He lost the youthfulness when he first entered the military camp and gained a bit more calmness as a border guard.
Solang Tashi raised her hand to signal him to take a break, and handed over the plate in his hand, which contained steaming dumplings. "Company Dinner You two are on duty. I thought it was time to go off duty, so I'll bring you something hot as soon as possible."
Dumplings are often eaten, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated every year, but the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated by recruits at the post in their first year made Chen Zongqiang feel warm and left a deep mark on his heart. The biting mountain wind howled by, and the coldness of the night did not diminish at all, but Chen Zongqiang's heart was already filled with hot warmth.
This "circle"
It is the "circle" for students from outside the district
On September 25, the campus of Chongqing Tibet Middle School was filled with cinnamon, and the fragrant fragrance permeated every corner. In order to allow the Tibetan class students to have a happy and fulfilling Mid-Autumn Festival, the school carried out themed party activities in class units.
Classrooms were bustling with activity, and the desks were neatly arranged into long reunion tables. Exquisite mooncakes, sweet fruits, and special delicacies from the plateau were laid out one by one. The students showed off their talents and performed performances such as singing, dancing, and interesting sketches in turn. The students of the Tibetan class, who were in a foreign land, truly felt the warmth and care of the school family in the lively and harmonious atmosphere.
"The reason why this beef jerky is delicious is that air-drying causes a large amount of water loss, and the protein of the beef itself is highly concentrated. When chewing, these umami flavors will be slowly released, so the more you chew, the more delicious it becomes..." Students from different cities in Tibet told their partners about the folk customs of their hometowns; different flavors of food are intertwined, creating a different kind of reunion.
"Although I couldn't reunite with my relatives in my hometown, I spent the Mid-Autumn Festival with my friends at school and ate hometown delicacies. I felt the warmth of home and felt very at ease." said Tsering Wangji, a senior class 1 (3) student.
This "circle"
It is the "circle" for people employed outside the area
A bright moon crosses the mountains and seas, sending longing for reunion for thousands of miles. For Ganyang Dolma, reunion is a concern separated by mountains and seas.
The 25-year-old Ganyang Dolma is from Zanda County, Ngari Prefecture. In 2023, she joined the Xianyang Special Education School and gradually grew into the head teacher and Chinese teacher of the education class.
The new semester has begun, and the affairs are complicated and the work is very busy.
While working hard in a foreign land and reaping growth, there will always be some regrets. "On National Day this year, my friend got married. Unfortunately, I couldn't go back, so I could only wish her remotely. I haven't been able to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with my family in the past two years, but I have been thinking of them in my heart." said Ganyang Dolma.
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, Ganyang Dolma made a video call and gathered in the cloud with his family in Ali, Tibet, chatting about everyday things. Although there was no happy gathering with the whole family sitting around, she had the simplest wish hidden in her heart, hoping that her family far away would be safe and healthy.
This "circle"
It is the "circle" of lovesickness
On nights when the moon is full on the plateau, some people watch the moonlight at the sentry post, some eat mooncakes with their neighbors, some gossip about home affairs through screens thousands of miles away, and those relatives in our lives who left early have never missed this round of perfection.
I followed the way you did in previous years, cutting the mooncakes into even slices, and placing an extra pair of bowls and chopsticks at the most accustomed position by the window. The wind from the plateau blew over, and it was like you were still sitting opposite, smiling and reaching out to take the piece of sweet I handed you. I used to think that a reunion would only count if everyone sat around the same table, but later I gradually understood that those who left were never absent from our "circle".
The moonlight tonight spreads over the Geelong Port and falls gently on the window sill of my house. When I look up at the full moon, I know that you are standing in the same moonlight, watching the lights of thousands of houses with me, and watching the perfection of this world.
The "circle" of the Mid-Autumn Festival always has more than one shape
It can be the laughter of neighbors sitting around
It can be the warm dumplings at the post
It can be a video connection across mountains and seas
Or we can face the moon
The words of longing whispered to an old friend
No reunion will be truly missed
All the people I cared about and the things that warmed me
In the end, they will all follow the moonlight on the plateau
On the land beneath our feet
The most complete and hottest home
Author: Wang Xiangxiang, Zhang Yu, Gawa Pema, Yangjin Tsering Pianduo, Wu Peitao
