With the Mid-Autumn Festival looming, foreign employees and students of the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP), Chinese Academy of Sciences were given a special treat: making their own mooncakes.

The event was organized by the International Cooperation Division (ICD) as a warmup for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, traditionally in China a day when people celebrate togetherness. Ms. Wang Hui, deputy director of ICD, said the event, which has the theme "welcome the Mid-Autumn Festival, make mooncakes, and CIOMP is my home", was designed to help foreign employees and students feel more at home in CIOMP.

Foreign researchers from India, Pakistan, Yemen, Uzbekistan and other countries from International Photonics Laboratory and the Bimberg Chinese-Germany Green Photonics Research Center were invited to take part. They thanked CIOMP for providing such an opportunity for them to learn about Chinese culture and said they appreciated the opportunity to meet fellow scientific workers from other countries, to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together, and to express their longing for their family and friends far away.

The event was held in the CIOMP canteen, where staff had prepared the tools and materials for mooncake making in advance. The participants couldn't wait to put on aprons and roll up their sleeves. Under the teacher's guidance, everyone learned the how to make mooncakes very quickly and soon finished all the materials prepared. 

While waiting for the mooncakes to be baked, Ms. Wang, gave a short lecture on the origin, customs, and blessings of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and thanked everyone for staying at work in Changchun during the Covid-19 pandemic. Participants said they were impressed by the Chinese culture, and looked forward to more similar events in the future. They also thanked all the staff who helped organize the event for their hard work.

This event is a sequel to the dumpling making event organized ahead of the Chinese New Year.  Ms. Wang said these events not only promoted Chinese culture among the foreign employees and students, but also enhanced mutual exchange and understanding, allowing those foreign employees and students to truly feel the warmth and loving care from the CIOMP family.

Group photo（photo by CIOMP）