"Mid-Autumn Day in Poetry" brings shared moonlight to UN

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The 2025 "Mid-Autumn Day in Poetry" celebration lit up the United Nations (UN) Headquarters with the spirit of reunion, harmony and cultural exchange on Monday night.

Centered on the shared symbolism of the moon, the event, hosted by the China National Tourist Office in New York, held a poetry and music gala to bridge the East and the West, highlighting the Mid-Autumn Festival's universal themes of family, peace and gratitude.

New York City Council member Christopher Marte opened the evening with a bilingual recitation of Chinese Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai's Quiet Night Thoughts, accompanied by hulusi music titled Bamboo in the Moonlight.

American and Chinese poets and artists followed with renditions of Thinking of My Distant Loved Ones on a Moonlit Night, Spring River in the Flower Moon Night, and Water Melody -- When Will the Bright Moon Appear.

New York poets Kirk Larsen and Alan Semerdjian presented Nearing Mid-Autumn Harvest, while Jeff Crosby, an American artist long based in China's Yunnan Province, staged an expressive Mandarin performance of Water Melody.

Representing the UN Department of Global Communications, Peter Dawkins said the event "reminds us that though nations may be far apart, we share one sky and one moon." Poetry and arts carry the power to unite hearts beyond language, reflecting the very spirit of peace and understanding what the United Nations stands for, he said.

Co-organized by the Sino-American Cultural and Art Foundation, the event served as part of the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism's global "Shared Moon, Shared Moment" initiative, taking poetry as a timeless bridge of friendship across cultures.