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?
People shared a jujube paste mooncake in Luoyang, Henan, on Mid-Autumn festival in 2016. The mooncake weighed about 55 kilograms, with a diameter of 2 meters. /VCG Photo
Have you tried jujube paste mooncake? The jujube is commonly known as red date or Chinese date. In biological terms, it has no close relation with the date (date palm); but the name is partly correct: it originates from China.
Jujubes are widely grown in many parts of China. /VCG Photo
Many provinces in China, including Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region produce jujubes. However, the eastern province of Shandong is most famous, and a Shandong city is named Zao Zhuang – meaning "jujube village" in Chinese. Ningyang county in Shandong is honored the "hometown of big jujubes".
A farmer in Ningyang County, Shandong Province, harvests jujubes. /VCG Photo
Botanists believe that the jujube is a fruit with most Chinese characteristics, not only because it originates from, and is widely grown, in China, but Chinese people have invented so many ways to enjoy the sweetness and aroma of the fruit. In China, the jujubes are eaten fresh, dried, candied; they are made into jujube paste and filled in a variety of pastries; they even float in the boiling hot pot, as well as in soup, porridge and herbal tea.
Dried jujubes are sold on markets in Shandong. /VCG Photo
As one of the Chinese people's favorite foods, the jujube plays an important role in many traditional festivals. On Mid-Autumn Festival and Lantern Festival, we have jujube paste-filled mooncakes and yuanxiao; on Dragon Boat Festival, we have jujube zongzi; and for the upcoming Double-Ninth Day, try the fresh jujube and you will love it.
Jujube harvest. /VCG Photo
To learn more about what is in your mooncakes:
Part II:
Part I:
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-09-09/What-s-in-your-mooncake-Part-I-JQdooQ5lS0/index.html
China's Flora Tour
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(Cover image via VCG, designed by CGTN's Li Jingjie)
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