University of Sydney celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival with showcase of Chinese culture

SYDNEY, Sept. 10 -- A Mid-Autumn Festival celebration was held at the University of Sydney on Sept. 8, attracting thousands of teachers and students.

Many booths were set up on the Camperdown Campus displaying traditional Chinese culture. Participants were all given free moon cakes and encouraged to participate in a variety of Chinese cultural activities including paper cutting, Chinese painting, tea tasting, Chinese riddles, calligraphy, music and Kung Fu performances.

Dr Michael Spence, the Vice Chancellor of University of Sydney, also made a wish on the wishing wall using a Chinese writing brush. He said that the University of Sydney has a long and close relationship with China, collaborating with over 160 universities and research institutions in China.

“We hope to bring thousands of Chinese students in the University a feeling of home, and also to introduce Chinese culture to overseas students from other ethnic backgrounds,” he said.

The China Studies Centre, Confucius Institute and the University of Sydney Union hosted a day of activities to help Chinese students celebrate this important festival with students, staff and members of the community.

“There’s a Chinese saying about the Moon Festival - Yue Yuan Ren Tuan Yuan. It means when the moon is at its fullest, people come together,” Professor Kerry Brown, director of the China Studies Centre said.

“We embraced this philosophy to create this event at the University of Sydney to celebrate Moon Festival. We wanted to bring the University community together to help celebrate this important holiday with our Chinese staff and students.”

Some postgraduate Chinese overseas students said that they had never expected such a lively celebration since they arrived in Australia. “This brings us a feeling of home,” they said while tasting free moon cakes.