A Guide to Mid-Autumn Festival Gift-Giving in China
One gift of having China as a second home is having two sets of holidays to celebrate year-round: Those of your home country or culture as well as China’s long-held traditions and festivals. Mid-Autumn Festival 2020 – one of China’s oldest holidays centered around family reunion – is just around the corner, and this year it happens to overlap with Golden Week, commemorating the republic’s founding.
Mid-Autumn Festival is a major Chinese holiday on-par with Chinese New Year in weight and significance. The usual trimmings of this holiday are embodied in its centuries-old lore, timing with the eighth full moon of the lunar year, traditional Chinese delicacies like moon cakes, and family reunions. More than that, it can also be an occasion for expressing gratitude, and goodwill toward those in your social circles.
Quality-Assured Mid-Autumn
Festival Gift Boxes
In China, knowing how to choose a proper and premium gift on each holiday is important, yet not easy for foreigners. Here, we show you how you can hand-pick quality items for your friends, colleagues, and neighbors for their dearly-held Mid-Autumn Festival and home reunion dinners.
Sam’s Club already has many winning combinations of must-have Mid-Autumn gifts neatly arranged in themed gift boxes, most especially mooncakes and fruit. Other gifts commonly given are egg puffs, dried foods (such as mushroom, seafood, and grains), wine, and snacks.
Below are the stunning, artfully crafted, and lovingly grown gift ideas carried at Sam’s Club you may consider including in a gift basket or giving as a standalone gift. Through the Sam’s Club app and membership, many of these gift can even be purchased from home with one-hour delivery.
Member’s Mark Lactobacillus and Creamy Custard Mooncake Gift Box ¥168
Traditionally mooncakes were limited to a couple of varieties, but nowadays mooncakes have diversified to include ingredients, textures, and flavor profiles running the gamut from sweet and sour to savory. Member’s Mark custard-filled mooncakes, for example, are an innovative take on the traditional mooncake that takes after Cantonese-style cuisine, blending yogurt and imported cream to achieve a smooth, satisfyingly sweet-and-sour, gooey center. They’re only widely available for Mid-Autumn festival, and in the context of gift-giving, they should be the centerpiece of a gift basket.
Member’s Mark Fresh Pork Mooncakes
¥29 9pc
Contrasting the custard-filled mooncake, pork-filled mooncakes have long been a popular choice in Shanghai and its surrounding regions Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The Member’s Mark Fresh Pork Mooncakes at Sam’s Club, for example, make a foolproof Mid-Autumn gift. These Member’s Mark Pork Mooncakes – freshly baked in-Club – come bearing a savory flavor and, as with all items offered at Sam’s Club, are guaranteed made with only the best ingredients.
Pomelo is a large, round, fruit harvested in autumn, making it a must-have for the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Chinese word to describe the pomelo’s roundness, “yuan,” harkens to the word “tuanyuan,” the Chinese word for “reunion.” Meanwhile, the pronunciation of pomelo “柚子” （”youzi”）resembles another Chinese word, “有子,” which means “to be with child,” as well as “游子“ (“a parting son”). Taken together, giving a pomelo as a gift can symbolize the two well-wishes and intentions of Mid-Autumn Festival: “May you have a baby soon” and “Children, go home and reunite with your family.” A pomelo as a gift can also simply extend goodwill and hopes for prosperity.
In a similar fashion, the Green Muscat Grapes imported from Japan at Sam’s Club symbolize bounty and fruition when given as a gift. While to some these fruits are perhaps regarded as mundane, everyday items easily found at any ordinary grocery store, they are considered thoughtful gifts that show care for the recipient’s health when it comes to Mid-Autumn Festival.
Member’s Mark Egg Yolk Puff Gift Box
¥99 16pc
Egg yolk puffs, a traditional Chinese pastry, evoke the nostalgia of Mid-Autumn Festivals past as well as reach back to a centuries-old tradition of crafting the delicate dessert. While less synonymous with Mid-Autumn Festival than mooncakes, it makes a good gift for friends known for having a sweet tooth and can be a pleasant twist on the more traditional gifts they will receive.
Member’s Mark Fuguijixiang Dried Fungus Gift Box ¥298 718g
As many Chinese households reach for dried grocery items on a daily basis, these staples can make another great option to include in a Mid-Autumn Festival gift basket. As a preserved item that will have a relatively longer shelf life, dried goods like the Member’s Mark Fuguijixiang Dried Fungus Giftbox will serve as a daily reminder of your goodwill to your recipient as they incorporate it into meals for weeks to come. The attractive packaging also bears the slogan “富贵吉祥” (“Fuguijixiang”) in beautiful Chinese font, meaning “wealth, prosperity, auspiciousness.”
A week of mealtime gatherings
with family and friends
Mid-Autumn Festival is meant to be a chance for gathering ‘round the dinner table for an especially memorable meal. On October 1st, the official National Day that kicks off Golden Week, the dinner will also include spectacular fireworks displays watched together crowded around the dining room window or apartment rooftop.
Consider making a remarkable meal with the following deals from Sam’s Club. One-hour delivery on the app is also available in case of a last-minute grocery run.
USDA CHOICE Natural Grain-Fed Ribeye Steak ¥179.2 800g
Serving up a memorable holiday meal starts with a satisfying main course. Starting with succulent cuts of steak make a big impression without taking all day to make: They are ready in a matter of minutes when grilled at a medium heat with minimal spices. The imported USDA CHOICE Natural Grain-Fed Ribeye Steak at Sam’s Club can be delivered fresh as quick as an hour before your big gathering.
Member’s Mark Madagascar Black Tiger Shrimp ¥369 2kg
A memorable holiday meal also means no cutting corners. Seafood like shrimp make an indulgent entrée before the meal arrives, and all Sam’s Club Member’s Mark seafood processing adheres to the highest-standard frozen-at-sea practices, ensuring food safety. Member’s Mark Madagascar Black Tiger Shrimp is no exception. The state-of-the-art technique freezes shrimp individually so you can stir-fry, sauté, or grill the portion you need without repeatedly freezing and thawing the remaining shrimp, avoiding the growth of harmful bacteria that comes with excessive defrosting.
Antonin Rodet Chateau de Rully Rully Premier Cru Red Wine ¥168 750ml
One would be amiss to omit red wine from their savor-full week of family or friend reunions. The Antonin Rodet Rully Premier Cru Red Wine pairs particularly well with steak and other Sam’s Club red meats available on the app and mentioned in the Mid-Autumn Festival catalogue (check the E-catalogue link below).
Soft-seed Pomegranate, Envy
Apple, Tianshan Peach and More
Finally, fill in the gaps on your dinner table or decorate a few corners of your home with bowls of gorgeous, in-season fruit with these ripe, freshly picked selections from Sam’s Club; consider also sending guests home toting a bag fruits to nibble on and reminisce about your gathering for days to come.
Putting together hand-selected items is a meaningful way to make the most of special occasions no matter where you find yourself over the holidays, and giving only the best shows an awareness for quality, exclusivity, and taste. To start browsing your nearest Sam Club’s Mid-Autumn Festival and Golden Week offerings, simply download the Sam’s Club China app and become a member today by scanning a QR code below!
Scan the code below to view Sam’s online Mid-Autumn Festival catalogue for more gift ideas.
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