Mooncakes are on sale in Sydney, Australia during Mid-Autumn Festival, Sept. 12, 2019 (Xinhua/Hu Jingchen)

For many Chinese people living overseas who get homesick during the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is one thing that's sure to bring a smile to their face, and that's mooncake!

by Levi J Parsons

SYDNEY, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- For many people in Australia's Chinese community, the Mid-Autumn Festival, a normally happy occasion, can sometimes bring a touch of homesickness.

Away from family and missing out the comforts and traditions of home, this time of the year can often spark feelings of loneliness and segregation, particularly for young foreign students.

But there is one thing that's sure to bring a smile to the face of every Chinese people during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and that's mooncake!

Nestled away in Sydney's Market City Plaza near Chinatown, Independent Grocers of Australia has set up a stall selling the holiday treats, and according to manager Linh Nguyen, business is booming.

"We get them from suppliers in China," she told Xinhua.

"This has been a bit of recent tradition, so they know that we have mooncakes and they're pretty excited."

"The moon festival is pretty big in China, and we have a lot of Chinese people here... so we want to celebrate with them."

In line to purchase a box of mooncakes, Chinese architecture student Lin Bei told Xinhua "it makes me miss home, but if we have the chance to buy mooncakes it can make it better," she joked.

Surprised that she could find Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes during Australia's springtime, Lin said "We will have a dinner with friends and we will have two or three pieces of mooncakes and cut them into little pieces and share them with each other."

While it's a difficult decision to choose just what kind of mooncake to buy, Nguyen said "The two-yolk white lotus are the ones people seem to like a lot."

But according to University of New South Wales Student Elaine, the best kind of mooncake Down Under is ice cream flavored.

"That's my second favorite after my family's pork mooncake from Suzhou," she told Xinhua after purchasing a box.

"The first year I was in Australia it was so sad, but I have my friends here now so it's okay." ■