In celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is an important traditional custom for all participants to gaze at and appreciate the glorious full moon while it is at its brightest and roundest point of the whole year. This has been a classic activity since ancient times. The custom of appreciating the moon originated from a memorial ceremony that was held during which sacrifices were offered to the dear moon. 

These customs started in the Wei and Jin Dynasties (220-420) and gradually became popular and prosperous in the Tang and Song Dynasties (618-1279). On that day, the people would prepare all kinds of fruits and moon cakes on tables in their courtyards while they appreciated the moon, praying for the moon to provide them with blessings. 

Today, people still maintain the tradition of revering the moon during the Chinese Moon Festival. Those who are away from home and cannot typically visit their loved ones easily tend to make every effort to go back home for this festival, a rare moment when they can appreciate nature’s beauty and the joy of life with their family members who are otherwise thousands of miles away. To this day, it is believed that the moon can help send love, best wishes, and greetings to family members far away. 

The most recommendable places for appreciating the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival include Mount Lu, Mount Huang, Yangtze River, West Lake, Mount Emei, Dongting Lake, and Elephant Trunk Hill, all fine destinations found throughout China, where visitors can feast their eyes with the natural beauty and also social atmosphere around them. 

Moon cakes (Yue Bing), play a vital and significant role in the Chinese Moon Festival as an indispensable food that day. The round moon cakes, which were traditionally used as sacrificial offerings for the Moon God, are considered nowadays as symbols of family reunion. The stuffing inside the saccharine pastries generally include pine nuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, crystal sugar, egg yolk, bean paste, lotus seed, peanuts, almonds, and many other delicacies. Blended together in various combinations, they taste rich but not. During the festival, it is also common for the Chinese to give moon cakes to their relatives and friends as presents, expressing their love and kind regards. 

According to legend, eating moon cakes as a celebration originates from the Tang Dynasty. In the reign of Emperor Tang Gaozu, the great imperator Li Jing successfully squashed the Hun revolts and came back to his home on August 15 of the Chinese lunar calendar. 

In celebration of his triumphant return, a businessman from Tubo offered a special kind of cake to the emperor. The emperor spoke highly of the cake and granted a share of the delights to his ministers. From then on, the eating of moon cakes and celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival have come hand in hand.