walking on the streets of vietnam during the mid-autumn festival to experience the "humanistic friendship" between china and vietnam
2024-09-18
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china news service, ho chi minh city, vietnam, september 18th, title: walking on the streets of vietnam during the mid-autumn festival to experience the "humanistic friendship" between china and vietnam
author rao yanling
the 15th day of the eighth lunar month every year is the traditional mid-autumn festival. this festival represents family reunion and happiness in china, and it is also a festival for family reunion and children's health in vietnam.
on the mid-autumn festival in the year of the dragon (september 17), the reporter walked on the streets of ho chi minh city, vietnam, and could feel the cultural affinity between china and vietnam everywhere.
in the early morning, near the pink church in ho chi minh city, the most famous mooncake shop in the area was bustling with people. the counter was filled with dozens of mooncakes with flavors such as roast chicken, sausage, flat rice and mung bean, lotus seed paste, etc. these traditional vietnamese mooncakes were printed with exquisite patterns, among which the "dragon" was the most common.
the picture shows citizens in ho chi minh city, vietnam, buying mooncakes for the mid-autumn festival. photo by rao yanling
since ancient times, the people of china and vietnam have lived side by side and have a long history of cultural exchanges. the vietnamese call themselves "sons and grandsons of the dragon", which is quite similar to the chinese people calling themselves "descendants of the dragon".
nguyen kim long, a vietnamese, came on a motorcycle to buy mooncakes. he specially picked the chicken-flavored mooncakes with a "dragon" pattern printed on them. "i am a dragon, and this year is my zodiac year."
in both chinese and vietnamese cultures, the chinese zodiac is used to represent the year. the slight difference is the fourth animal: the chinese animal is the rabbit, while the vietnamese animal is the cat.
during the mid-autumn festival in ho chi minh city, it is not only the mooncake shops that are bustling, but also the lantern street. the shops on this street are hung with hundreds of lanterns in the shapes of stars, carps, rabbits, etc., as well as paper-mâché masks, unicorn heads, drums and other toys.
the picture shows citizens in ho chi minh city, vietnam, choosing lantern toys. photo by rao yanling
compared with the mid-autumn festival in china, the most notable feature of the mid-autumn festival in vietnam is that it also has the flavor of "children's day". in the evening, children from all families come out to play with lanterns, playing in groups until late at night.
among the dazzling sea of lanterns, there are many imported from china. for example, there are chinese characters printed with "ruyi", "good luck", "nabfu", "bull wealth" and other chinese characters, as well as chinese poems such as "when i was young, i didn't know the moon, i called it a white jade plate. i thought it was a mirror on the jade terrace, flying in the blue sky." "i wish you a long life, so that we can share the beauty of the moon even though we are thousands of miles apart."
at noon, vietnamese woman le thi ngoc hien took her daughter to choose lanterns. her daughter chose a lantern with a rabbit pattern, while le thi ngoc hien specially bought a lantern with chinese poems printed on it. "now more and more chinese companies are investing in ho chi minh city. i want to cultivate my daughter's interest in chinese and chinese culture, which will be good for her future growth and development."
it is becoming increasingly convenient to learn chinese in vietnam. there is a bookstore on the first floor of the "internet celebrity building" coffee apartment in ho chi minh city. among the dazzling array of books, there is no shortage of chinese learning materials. readers of all ages can find suitable chinese teaching aids. the bookstore also has vietnamese versions of chinese classics such as "romance of the three kingdoms" and "journey to the west", which can be used to understand chinese culture.
vietnamese tour guide chen linying took a break from work to select chinese learning materials in a bookstore. she said that china is one of the main source countries for vietnam's tourism industry, and china has gradually become a popular choice for vietnamese people to travel abroad. learning chinese well will be of great help to her work.
china and vietnam are connected by mountains and rivers and share similar cultures. in recent years, the economic and trade exchanges between the two countries have continued to flourish, and the markets of the two countries are open to each other. china is currently vietnam's largest trading partner, and the bilateral trade volume between china and vietnam has exceeded us$200 billion for three consecutive years.
as night falls, the flowers bloom and the moon is full. people from china and vietnam eat moon cakes together, enjoy lanterns together, and look at the full moon together. (end)
