ROME, Sept. 14 (People’s Daily Online) — (Reporter: Xie Yahong) Guided by the Chinese Embassy in Greece, the 2026 event Sharing the Moonlight Across the Miles - Mid-Autumn Festival Garden Poetry Gala, co-hosted by the China Cultural Center in Athens and the Municipality of Heraklion, Attica Region of Greece, was recently staged at the 30th Art Festival of Heraklion.

Scenes from the event. Photo courtesy of the organizer

Wang Jin, Cultural Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Greece; Wang Jiangtao, Director, and Meng Guangzu, Deputy Director, of the China Cultural Center in Athens; Nikos Bambalos, Mayor of Heraklion, Attica Region; Athena Linou, Member of Parliament for the northern constituency; and Katerina Zagana, Municipal Councillor Delegate for Cultural Affairs of Heraklion, Attica Region — together with other Chinese and Greek guests from all walks of life — attended the event, joining local residents and overseas Chinese in celebrating the gala.

Artistic performance in the evening featured Chinese dance, martial arts, ethnic instrumental music, chorus, poetry recitation, and China-Greece joint musical works. Chinese and Greek artists shared the same stage, blending tradition and modernity, presenting a vivid picture of cultural encounter and mutual understanding through artistic exchanges.

Beyond the stage performances, the on-site Mid-Autumn interactive garden experience zone proved to be the biggest crowd-puller of the evening, featuring six hands-on activities running simultaneously — traditional coloring, the pitch-pot game, ring toss, Mid-Autumn lantern-making, a storytelling session, and a Mid-Autumn wish tree. The zone also offered mooncakes for visitors. To add to the fun, a stamp-collecting challenge was set up: participants collected stamps by completing different activities and could then redeem Mid-Autumn gifts based on the number of stamps they had earned.

Built around a traditional Chinese festival, the event brought together diverse artistic expressions and immersive cultural experiences, making exchanges between the two civilizations more tangible and heartfelt. It allowed the Chinese and Greek people to deepen mutual understanding and forge closer bonds through the shared joy of the festival. As we mark the 20th anniversary of the China-Greece comprehensive strategic partnership, this cross-continental Mid-Autumn gathering has added a warm and vibrant new chapter to people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries.