LIFE / FOOD
Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival gift boxes designed by culture sensation Li Ziqi enlight thousands when pre-order begins
Published: Aug 11, 2020 04:48 PM

A mooncake gift box set for the Mid-Autumn Festival Photo: Snapshot of Taobao



A gift box set for the Mid-Autumn Festival co-designed by Chinese internet celebrity Li Ziqi and the cultural and creative products team responsible for promoting Tiananmen Square in Beijing will go on sale on Wednesday. 

A mooncake gift box set for the Mid-Autumn Festival Photo: Snapshot of Taobao



Since this year's Mid-Autumn Festival falls on October 1, China's National Day, the gift box is red, an auspicious color in China, to hint at the double holiday happiness. The exquisite gift box, which sports the phrase "I love Tiananmen" and costs 350 yuan ($ 50.34), contains seven mooncakes. Seven represents prosperity in Chinese culture. 

According to reports, the box's packaging is modeled on traditional paper handicrafts that originated 1,600 years ago. The paper sports 111 pictures of traditional and modern Chinese cultural elements including famous landmarks such as Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven and the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest.

A mooncake gift box set for the Mid-Autumn Festival Photo: Snapshot of Taobao



The mooncakes, the most representative snack of the festival, have been baked into various exquisite shapes including lions, characters from Chinese folklore and huabiao, a type of ceremonial column used in traditional Chinese architecture.

A mooncake gift box set for the Mid-Autumn Festival Photo: Snapshot of Taobao

The combination of tradition and modern aesthetics are in line with the style of Li, who has made a name for herself both at home and abroad by producing videos introducing Chinese traditional culture to the world.

This is not the first time that Li has participated in mooncake design. In 2019, she partnered with CCTV cultural TV series National Treasure to produce another exquisite mooncake gift box. 

As of Tuesday, five stores on Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao had already opened presales for the new gift boxes. 

The owners of the stores told the Global Times that they are official stores for selling the gift boxes, and that they have already received numerous inquiries and orders for them.