In China they eat the moon

Monday, 24.09.2018

A Chinese poem says:

Chūn yǒu bǎi huā 

Qiū yǒu yuè

Xià yǒu liáng fēng

Dōng yǒu xuě

Spring has 100 flowers

Autumn has the moon

Summer has cool winds

Winter has snow

For the 6 months that we have been here, we can confirm that. In April, everything bloomed in vibrant colors, in the summer there was a lot of wind, sometimes a hurricane, and it gave us a blue sky. And on this Monday, the moon was as full and round as never before this year.

This Monday was a day off because we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, a kind of harvest festival where the whole family usually comes together and spends time together, but above all has a meal together. During this time, 'mooncakes' are given and eaten. Mostly pastries similar to puff pastry with various fillings.

According to tradition, we did as instructed and spent time together.

Since the weather is now suitable for outings again, we decided to take a day trip to Mudu. Mudu is a small town on the western outskirts of Suzhou. You can easily get there by subway, it is the last station on line 1 from our point of view. A great fun for Philipp, who always enjoys riding the subway and encourages Chinese children to misbehave with his antics on the pole.

In Mudu, we first visited the 'Ling Yan Shan Jing Qu', a park at the foot of the 'Ling Yan Mountain'. There are a few old buildings, two lakes, and some shady forest.

Philipp took the opportunity to 'pop stones' and dig for treasures in the forest. Jule ran around delighted. 

But then it was also time to rest. In a room next to the tourist information, some Chinese people were already sleeping, which is totally normal here, everyone took a little nap where their head dropped, to then continue with part two of the tour.

Mudu is also a city crisscrossed by canals, just like Suzhou. We simply strolled along the water

and explored the China in the backyard alleys.

Wondering where the beads of this world come from? From a small basin in Mudu 😉

To fully live up to the tradition of the day, a communal dinner had to be eaten. We were brave and tried something new. Korean barbecue, the sauces were a bit spicy for my loved ones, but other than that, the meat and vegetables cooked over charcoal and wrapped in fresh lettuce leaves were very tasty, and Philipp had fun grilling the family.