Intense Interest in Chinese Culture at MAKÜ: Traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Cultural Event Held

Our faculty's Research Assistant Dr. Aykut Dal, who serves as the academic advisor for the Chinese Language and Culture Society, organized a cultural event for the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of China's most important traditional holidays, in celebration of the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Turkey and China.

The event, held on September 25, 2026, at the Avşarhan Cinema Hall, attracted significant interest from academic staff and students. In the program attended by over a hundred participants, Chinese guests who have been living in Burdur for many years also came together with students to share the joy of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The event, themed “Same Moon, Closer Hearts,” conveyed the place and significance of the Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinese culture to the participants. It was explained that in Chinese culture, the moon symbolizes important cultural elements such as family, togetherness, longing for one's hometown, and remembering loved ones living far away. The mythological narrative of Chang’e’s Journey to the Moon, which is associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival, was also presented to students through visual storytelling.

One of the most popular sections of the program was the Chinese calligraphy event. The calligraphy demonstration conducted by our university's Social Sciences Institute Sports Management Program doctoral student Ke Guoxing (柯国兴) received great appreciation from the participants. In the practice conducted using traditional brush, ink, and paper, students had the opportunity to closely experience the art of Chinese writing.

Another noteworthy part of the event showcased the traditional Chinese paper-cutting art. Students prepared their own works with red paper, experiencing this art, which is one of the deep-rooted traditions of Chinese folk culture, in a hands-on manner.

The porcelain exhibition prepared as part of the event became another cultural element that attracted attention in the program. Various works reflecting China's centuries-old porcelain tradition were displayed at the event venue, offering students and academics the chance to appreciate them. Participants had the opportunity to closely examine the works while also getting to know the aesthetic understanding and cultural heritage of China's traditional ceramic art. Thus, the event brought together different elements of Chinese culture, from calligraphy to paper-cutting art, and from mythological narratives to porcelain art, in the same environment.

During the program, traditional “moon cakes” sent by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Ankara for the event were served to the participants. Students had the opportunity to experience a different aspect of Chinese culture by tasting the moon cake, one of the most well-known traditions of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Dr. Aykut Dal, the Academic Advisor of the Chinese Language and Culture Society, stated that the event aimed to contribute to students' encounters with Chinese language and culture not only at a theoretical level but also through direct cultural experiences. Dal emphasized the importance of training students who can communicate with people from different cultures, understand cultural differences, and utilize foreign language knowledge in their academic and professional lives. He expressed that learning Chinese not only provides students with a new language but also offers significant gains in terms of understanding a different culture from the inside, developing international communication skills, and pursuing new career opportunities in academia, foreign trade, tourism, translation, international relations, and various sectors in the future.