Mooncakes take on new meaning
(eastday.com)
Updated: 2004-09-21 08:52

Exquisitely packaged mooncakes are now seen more as a gift for friends and business associates than a traditional festival pastry, a recent survey indicates.

Shanghai Horizon research Group surveyed 437 local residents, aged 18 to 59, about their attitudes toward mooncakes - the sweet pastry that Chinese eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on September 28 this year.

More than 29 percent of those surveyed said they plan to spend less than 100 yuan (US$12) buying mooncakes for eating this year, followed by another 18 percent who set aside a budget of 101 to 300 yuan.

"It's not worth spending much on the food that is for my family to eat," said Yuan Genbao, a local resident. "Only a little bite to mark the festival is enough."

Nearly 29 percent respondents said that they wouldn't spend a single penny on mooncakes as others will probably send the pastry to their doorsteps as festival gifts.

"Every year when the festival season comes, mooncakes and coupons will pile up before my eyes. We don't need to buy any and even have to give some of them away to others," said Daniel Tao, a local sales manager.

Most of the mooncakes and coupons are sent as gifts to relatives, friends, and more likely, business clients, Tao said.

Meanwhile, about 82 percent of locals surveyed said that current mooncakes tend to be overpackaged and too extravagant, and 70 percent of respondents consider it necessary for the government to set rules on mooncake packages, the survey indicated.

Earlier this month, a department store in Xiamen, Fujian Province was found selling "top gift mooncakes" for 9,999 yuan, claiming that the pastry is made of shark fins and other pricey fillings.

Zhang youde, a sociologist at Shanghai University, said the changing consumption trend has already spoiled mooncakes' original flavor.

"Purchase of mooncakes has now been commercialized to meet business needs in the modern society and has even become a form of bribery. However, its original meaning of family reunion has been greatly weakened," Zhang said.

In addition to mooncakes, many of the city's big hotels' sightseeing seats have been booked up for the eve of the forthcoming Mid-Autumn Festival as many Shanghainese hope they can see the moon while having a reunion dinner with family.

Oriental Riverside Hotel Shanghai, said its banquet hall, which can hold some 3,000 people, has already been reserved for the Mid-Autumn eve.

Located at the confluence of Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek, the Seagull Hotel also said its Mid-Autumn seats were almost sold out.

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