China's mooncake market heats up during the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, with a variety of brands, flavors, and packaging designs drawing a steady stream of consumers.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, has traditionally been a cherished occasion for family reunions. People in China always mark the occasion by eating mooncakes, a type of bakery product.
In southwest China's Chengdu City, a mooncake festival brought together over 200 companies from more than 10 of the 31-provincial-level regions in the Chinese mainland to showcase their products with innovative flavors and exquisite packaging designs.
"We have a little one at home who prefers mooncakes with a thinner crust and a variety of fruit flavors, rather than the traditional ones. I've also bought some freshly baked mooncakes. We're having these mooncakes with the family members during the Mid-Autumn Festival to enjoy the festive atmosphere of family reunion," said a customer surnamed Hu at the mooncake fair.
Mooncake vendors also attract customers with unique ingredients and baking techniques. A particular mooncake, filled with high-quality ham from southwest China's Xuanwei City and baked fresh on-site, has been incredibly popular among customers, leading to long lines.
"The first time I came here a few days ago, I saw a lot of customers waiting in long lines to buy the mooncakes, so I decided to give them a try. After tasting them, my family members and I both love the flavor," said another customer surnamed Yao.
Mooncake sellers at the fair have also seen a surge in sales recently thanks to the Mid-Autumn Festival.
"This mooncake filling is made based on our secret recipe, made with authentic ham from Xuanwei in Yunnan Province, and it's top-notch quality. In the past few days, our sales have more than tripled, reaching 600,000 yuan (84,585 U.S. dollars). Every day, people are lining up for about two to three hours to get our freshly baked ham mooncakes," said Xu Zhen, a mooncake vendor.
A report by China's data platform DataTechnology estimates that mooncake sales in China will continue to rise this year, reaching 4.3 billion U.S. dollars for the first time.
According to DataTechnology, mooncake sales have been primarily boosted by items in lower price ranges.
In terms of preference, Chinese consumers tend to favor time-honored brands and Cantonese-style mooncakes made with lotus seed paste and egg yolks. Meanwhile, innovative flavors such as coconut milk and cheese, as well as low-sugar and miniature-sized mooncakes, cater to young consumers and the growing focus on health.
Mooncake market heats up during traditional Mid-Autumn Festival
Macao has been emerging as a global hub for conventions and exhibitions in recent years by exploring the enormous opportunities in the sector, driving the region to advance its economic diversification and embrace a brighter future.
Macao has received many awards this year, such as the Best Convention City (Asia) and the Best BT-MICE City, showcasing the recognition for and influence of Macao's exhibition industry.
More than 1,000 electronic game enthusiasts from all over the world gathered recently in Macao to participate in a esports themed event.
Su Zhili, organizer of the event, said that Macao's rich experience in hosting large-scale events, coupled with its good infrastructure, has driven him to choose the region as an ideal destination to hold such an activity.
"Macao has held many similar large-scale events. It has rich experience, and the facilities at the venue are relatively mature, so we can start our work comfortably," said Su.
During the first three quarters of 2024, Macao held more than 1,000 conferences and exhibitions in total.
"We will invite more professional, special conferences to be held in Macao and also cultivate more exhibition brands with international influence in Macao, so as to promote Macao's exhibitions to be more market-oriented, professional, international, digital and greener from various aspects. This is our goal," said Elaine Wong, member of the Macao Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute.
In addition, multiple large exhibitions and conferences, such as the Macao International Trade and Investment fair, the Macao Franchise Expo, and the International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum, are held regularly in Macao.
With the introduction of a series of policies and measures to facilitate the exchanges between the mainland and Macao, as well as the construction and development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, Macao's convention and exhibition industry will embrace more opportunities for development in the foreseeable future.
"We have such a good industrial base in the Greater Bay Area. The mode of 'Convention and Exhibition + Industry' not only integrates the industries of Macao, but also the industries of the Greater Bay Area. In addition, Macao actively integrates into the national development and plays a role in the Belt and Road. Why are we so confident in Macao's convention and exhibition sector? Because it is backed by the motherland, and the country gives Macao great support," said Alan Ho, chairman of the Macao Association of Convention, Exhibition and Tourism Sectors.
Macao emerges as global hub for conventions and exhibitions, driving economic diversification and international recognition
