Moon Cake - The Specialty on the Mid-Autumn Festival

What is Mooncake?

Mooncake Infographic

The tradition of eating moon cakes has a long history. The moon cake is a kind of wheaten food. The dough is made of flour, oil and sugar, and filling is red-bean and lotus paste, salty egg yolk, preserved fruit, and chocolate. In some metropolitan areas such as Shanghai and Hong Kong, there are moon cakes filled with black truffle, caviar, and foie gras. As well as this, the relief patterns on the moon cakes are exquisite. Some moon cakes are truly delicious and highly recommended to overseas friends traveling in China during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

What does the Mooncake Symbolize? Why Chinese People Eat Mooncake During the Mid-Autumn Festival?

According to the records of moon cakes and the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Ming Dynasty, it is generally believed that the tradition of moon cakes was started from that time. After worshiping the moon, the whole family shared moon cakes together, and that’s when people started to think of moon cakes as involving reunion. A skillful baker carved the pattern of the Lady Chang’e Flying to the Moon on the moon cakes; since then, it is considered essential for the festival. Nowadays, Chinese people present moon cakes to each other to keep the ties of emotional bonds.

How Long do Mooncakes Last?

The shelf life of the mooncakes

Normal mooncakes (baked mooncakes) can be kept in a cool place within the temperature range 5-25℃ (41-77℉), and not exposed to heat, for up to 60 days. Depending on the different ingredients and preparation process, mooncakes can be stored for a minimum 20 days to a maximum of 60 days. If you buy mooncakes in a supermarket, you’d better check the expiration date first.

Handmade mooncakes can only be stored for 7 to 10 days at a temperature of less than 25℃ (77℉). If the temperature goes up to 30℃ (86℉), the days should be shortened to 7 days.

Snow skin mooncakes must be placed in the refrigerator below 2-5℃ (35.6-41℉) and they can be stored for up to a few weeks. Otherwise, they tend to be spoiled within 2 hours.

Varieties of Moon cakes (Types and Features)

A bewildering variety of moon cakes are available at least one month before the festival day. Except for traditional ones, you may find some moon cakes combined with western tastes.

Traditional Moon cakes

The most famous and popular ones are Beijing-Style Moon cakes, Cantonese-Style Moon cakes, Yunnan-Style Moon cakes, and Suzhou-Style Moon cakes.

Beijing-Style Moon cakes

Beijing-Style Moon cakes are one of the kinds in the north area, and originated in Beijing, Tianjin and the surrounding area. Two famous moon cakes are red moon cakes and white moon cakes, renowned for their sweet and crispy outer crust.

Cantonese-Style Moon cakes

This style of moon cakes is famous for the craftsmanship and careful choice of materials. Having two tastes of sweet and savory, it features a thin and soft crust with a delicate pattern, as well as an exquisite and portable package.

Yunnan-Style Moon cakes

Ham moon cakes and flower moon cakes are regarded as typical representatives of Yunnan-Style Mooncakes that are popular in Yunnan and the surrounding area. Ham Moon cakes are filled with special salted ham in Yunnan, and the aroma of the ham emanates through the pastry crust.

Suzhou-Style Moon cakes

Suzhou-Style moon cakes have two flavors including sweet and savory types. Sweet moon cakes are filled with rose petals, Osmanthus, nuts, and seeds, and savory moon cakes are filled with ham, pork and shrimp meat.

New Style Moon cakes

In mixed traditional Chinese culture and Western romantic culture, New Style Moon cakes create a new appearance and tastes to cater to modern people’s pursuit of gourmet foods.

Snow-skin Moon cakes

The main features of Snow-skin Moon cakes are that they non-baked and kept in a refrigerator. The crust is made from glutinous rice, and looks like snow. Then people add some colorful juice to the crust, allowing for diverse tastes with the different appearances.

Fruit and Vegetable Moon cakes

Fruit and vegetable moon cakes are filled with fruits and vegetables, and taste soft and smooth. Fillings include strawberry, melon, pineapple, lychee and orange.

Ice cream Moon cakes

This type of moon cakes just uses the moon cakes mold; the crust is made of chocolate and the fillings are totally ice cream.

Unusual flavoured mooncakes

Durian Mooncakes (Photo Credit: 榴芒一刻 )

You may create the stereotypical mooncakes with lotus paste and a salted egg core. But now, here are some more unusual tastes.

Crayfish Mooncake

Different with traditional sweet crust, crayfish mooncake has a crispy crust filled with crayfish flesh, pleurotus (a type of mushroom) and minced garlic. It is an exotic and popular taste and you will have a totally new idea of mooncakes.

Oreo Mooncakes

Oreo push four flavors mooncake, including chocolate, strawberry soft heart, and pineapple with soft cream heart.

CANSO Snowy Mooncakes

Canso has created snowy mooncakes, which is ice cream with nuts covered by wafer crust. Tickle your taste buds.

Lemon Cheese Mooncakes

The scent of fresh lemon takes the greasy feeling away, and mixed with soft and mild cheese offers a new texture.

Bamboo Charcoal Mooncakes

Bamboo Charcoal Mooncakes (Photo Credit: 老***云)

Just like its name, bamboo charcoal mooncakes are the traditional mooncakes with a special crust made from edible bamboo charcoal powder.

10 Most Popular Mooncake Fillings

• Lotus Paste with Salted Egg Yolk
• Mixed Nuts (Five Kernel)
• Custard
• Red Bean Paste
• Black Sesame Seeds
• Jujube Paste
• Fruit or Vegetable (Hami Melons, Pineapple, Orange, Sweet Potato, Winter Melon)
• Ham
• Ice Cream
• Flower (Rose, Jasmine)

As people pay increasing attention to healthy eating and wellness concepts, mooncake fillings have become more diverse. A growing number of merchants have launched wellness mooncakes, incorporating ingredients such as euryale seeds, coix seeds, dried tangerine peel, ginger, poria cocos, ginseng and Chinese yam into the fillings. These ingredients are widely regarded in traditional Chinese food culture for their delightful flavors and health benefits, embodying the philosophy of "medicine and food sharing the same origin".

For tourists joining China's Mid-Autumn Festival Cultural Tours or Educational Tours, tasting wellness mooncakes is more than just enjoying festive delicacies — it also offers an in-depth insight into traditional Chinese food culture. Many educational programs and cultural activities combine mooncake making, traditional Chinese medicine culture, tea culture and the concept of "nourishing health through diet", helping visitors explore Chinese culture from the perspectives of cuisine, wellness and lifestyle.

The Most Popular Moon Cake Brand in China and How Much do Mooncakes Cost?

The most popular brands of moon cakes in China include Holiland(好利来), CANSO(元祖), Ronghua(荣华), Anqi(安琪), Xinghualou(杏花楼), Huamei(华美), Meixim’s(美心), Daoxiangcun(稻香村), Likoufu(利口福), and Miqi(米旗).

Tips: The price range of Moon cakes is significantly wide. The price depends on flavor, weight and brands. Usually, one moon cake costs about 10 to 15 Yuan, and a box of moon cakes costs about 100 to 300 Yuan. Those ones in exquisite packages are more expensive than in bulk.

Some Tips for Eating Mooncakes (Is Chinese mooncake healthy? What is the healthiest mooncake?)

The traditional way of making mooncakes uses lots of oil and sugar, which is considered unhealthy. Eating too many moon cakes at one time will be a big burden on your digestive system, so drinking some oolong tea or red tea will help a lot. Nowadays, mooncake manufacturers produce healthier mooncakes (ex. Fruit and Vegetable Mooncakes, Snow-skin Mooncakes, Red Bean Mooncakes...) with less oil and less sugar so consumers can safely buy more.

In recent years, an increasing number of people have opted for healthy mooncakes. Industry data indicates that the market share of healthy mooncakes, including low-sugar, low-fat, sugar-free and organic varieties, climbed from 12.5% in 2020 to 18.4% in 2025. Low-sugar mooncakes are the most popular, making up 45.3% of total sales of healthy mooncakes, which reflects consumers' rising awareness of healthy diets.

A Traveler's Guide to Choosing Mooncakes in China

Choose Based on Your Taste and Dietary Needs

If you are trying mooncakes for the first time, traditional flavors such as lotus seed paste, red bean paste, mixed nuts, custard and salted egg yolk are recommended. You can also choose low-sugar, low-fat or sugar-free mooncakes to suit your dietary requirements.

Consider the Packaging for Gifts

Mooncakes are one of the most iconic gifts for the Mid-Autumn Festival. When picking them as presents, besides flavors, you may also pay attention to gift box designs and brand reputation. Many mooncake gift boxes feature traditional Chinese cultural elements. They are ideal festival gifts and also exquisite souvenirs with distinctive Chinese characteristics.

Try Regional Specialties and Innovative Flavors

For travelers visiting China, tasting local specialty mooncakes is a wonderful cultural experience. You can try regional varieties including Cantonese-style, Su-style, Beijing-style and Yunnan ham mooncakes. If you love creative tastes, go for innovative flavors like durian, cheese, matcha and ice cream mooncakes.

Tips

Purchase mooncakes through official and authorized channels. Before buying, check the integrity of the packaging, as well as information on nutrition labels, freshness and storage instructions.

How Travelers Can Experience Mooncake Culture in China?

For travelers visiting China during the Mid-Autumn Festival, experiencing mooncake culture allows you to taste traditional delicacies and gain an in-depth understanding of China's profound festival culture and folk traditions.

Apart from enjoying mooncakes, you can also take part in hands-on mooncake-making activities. You will learn traditional techniques like filling wrapping and mould pressing, as well as the historical stories and cultural symbolism behind mooncakes. You may also visit pastry shops and local markets to choose from a great variety of mooncake gift boxes. These specialty mooncakes are perfect souvenirs, and you can also feel the lively festive atmosphere as locals celebrate this traditional occasion.

Moon-gazing and mooncake sharing are among the most important traditions of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Our 7-Day Beijing - Xi'an Mid-Autumn Festival Tour combines moon appreciation, mooncake tasting and tours of historic sites. You can join in authentic festival celebrations, admire the full moon and celebrate reunion with local people, immersing yourself in the warm and joyous festive mood. If you wish to explore Mid-Autumn culture through cultural and educational tours, China Educational Tours can tailor exclusive itineraries for you.

• Mid-Autumn Festival
• What is a Mooncake?
• How to Make Traditional Cantonese Mooncakes
• What do Mid-Autumn Festival People Eat?
• Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Greetings
• How do Ethnic Minorities Celebrate the Mid-Autumn?
• 2 Popular Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Poems
• 4 Legends of the Mid-Autumn Festival
• Top 5 destinations in China to Celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival