As the bright moon shines over the sea, from far away you share this moment with me. On the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival, CGN Energy International Holdings Co., Limited ("CGNEI”) arranged a series of lively and interesting activities for employees in Malaysia, Brazil and other countries to learn how to make mooncakes, learn Chinese, and taste mooncakes.

Visit communities, make moon cakes, and learn cooking

Chinese and foreign employees celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together

In Malaysia, the Mid-Autumn Festival enjoys great popularity and is second only to the Spring Festival. Mid-Autumn Festival is not only celebrated by the Chinese, it is also appreciated by many local Malaysian people, reflecting everyone's respect for different cultures.

On September 24, Chinese and foreign employees of Edra, a subsidiary of CGNEI, and the non-profit organization Women of Will (WOW) jointly launched the "Mooncake Workshop" to make traditional Chinese food and share with surrounding communities.

During the event, many Chinese and foreign employees learned how to make ice skin moon cakes red bean and lotus seed paste filings. Under the instructions of chefs, employees learned to weigh and knead the glutinous rice dough, add sunflower seeds to the red bean and lotus paste and package the finished mooncakes.

Employees participating in the event said that although they often ate moon cakes in the past, it was the first time to make moon cakes. It is a novel experience for them.

Edra always pays attention to the disadvantaged communities and women, and through cooperation with WOW, it provides a platform for single mothers and disadvantaged women to continuously improve their lives, and also provides life assistance to 520 families during the COVID-19 pandemic. A member of WOW said that since 2015 after participating in this activity for the first time, she has learnt how to make moon cakes and started selling moon cakes, and they are very popular among customers.

After the moon cakes were made, employees of Edra visited communities and distributed moon cakes to the children and women. According to Liu Yi, Deputy Chief Financial Officer of Edra, it is of great significance for Chinese employees and local employees to share the joy of the Mid-Autumn Festival through this event, and to pass this joy to residents in surrounding communities.

Learn Chinese, taste mooncakes, and show talent

Overseas employees enhance their understanding of traditional Chinese culture

Unlike Malaysian colleagues who are familiar with the significance of the Mid-Autumn Festival, for employees of CGN Energy Brazil (“CGNEB”), far away in Curitiba, Brazil, their concept of Mid-Autumn Festival is still "a traditional Chinese festival" and "moon cakes at night".

Therefore, CGNEB organized activities to celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival on September 22, local time. During the event, an animated short film introducing the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival was played, and many employees are curious about "Why are there people and rabbits living on the moon?"

In addition to being curious about the festival itself, Brazilian colleagues are full of expectations for mooncakes. Therefore, CGNEB purchased a batch of mooncakes with winter paste and milk emperor filings from local Chinese supermarket, and distributed the Chinese-Portuguese bilingual greeting cards with "Flowers and Full Moon". It is the first time for many employees to taste mooncakes. Silvio Benhur Vergara de Oliveira (Silvio) from the Engineering Department said, “It feels a bit like a doughnut with fillings.” Juliana Arins, a female colleague from the Human Resources Department, said "Delicioso (delicious)" in Portuguese.

CGNEB also delivered moon cakes and greeting cards to all employees at power plants, making everyone feel the warmth from the CGN family. After tasting moon cakes, Brazilian employees also learned Chinese. With help from Chinese employees, Brazilian employees learned how to say "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival" in Chinese, and expressed their blessings to all CGN colleagues through video.

Although we are geographically separated from each other, employees of CGNEI all over the world appreciate the bright moon and celebrate the festive together. Cultural exchange activities offer a great opportunity for foreign employees to learn and understand China, and enhance cultural integration of Chinese and foreign employees.