The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. This year it falls on September 13. One of the most traditional ways of marking the occasion is eating mooncakes. But do you know what this round pastry hides inside?
This mooncake is filled with white lotus seed paste and salty egg yolk. /VCG Photo
They might all be round, but mooncakes come in different sizes and fillings. However, the most traditional version — and the most popular — is the white lotus paste with salty egg yolk.
The white lotus pond in Yaoxi Village, Guangchang County, Fushun City, Jiangxi Province. /VCG Photo
Almost all parts of the lotus plant can be used in Chinese cuisine. The sweet paste in mooncakes is made of lotus seeds.
The eastern province of Jiangxi is the hometown of white lotus in China. The largest area of white lotus plants is in Guangchang County, which has a history of more than 1,300 years. The county has the largest lotus pond in the world as certified by Guinness World Records.
China's Flora Tour
From the wetlands along the coast to the dense rain forests hidden in the southwest of China, all boast an array of plant species. In this series, we will go on a tour to learn about some of the most iconic flora in different provinces and see how they live in harmony with the local climate and topography.
(Cover image from VCG, designed by CGTN's Yu Peng)
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