Faculty and students experienced lantern crafting at Nankai University. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Chinese and international faculty and students alike came together to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival at Nankai University in Tianjin, where a series of traditional Chinese cultural activities were held in honor of the holiday.

Attendees immersed themselves in festival activities — such as guessing lantern riddles and practicing calligraphy — while participants in the lantern-making workshop cut paper and painted intricate designs on their lanterns.

"Through this creative process, I experienced the unique romance of the Mid-Autumn Festival," Wu Ruilong, a Spanish teacher at Nankai, said. "This was also an unforgettable cultural immersion."

Additional activities included mooncake making and cultural performances, like the university's Peking Opera Troupe, which showcased Chinese opera art through live performances and interactive activities. Students were fascinated by the embroidered patterns on the opera costumes, with many touching the delicate needlework.

"These costumes embody traditional Chinese aesthetics and history, giving me a new understanding of Chinese opera," Laetitia, an exchange student from Italy, said.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, as China's second most important traditional holiday after the Spring Festival, was inscribed on the first national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2006.

"This is my first Mid-Autumn Festival in China," Zhu Yongquan, an Indonesian student, said. "Though unable to reunite with my family members, performing with friends at the university and celebrating together gave me a different kind of warmth."