As the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival approaches-this year celebrated on Sept 15-mooncakes are turning up all over China, from very traditional teashops to Starbucks counters.

　　随着中秋佳节(9月15日)的临近，月饼已经提前在中国各地抢先登陆，从传统茶馆到星巴克柜台，琳琅满目，应有尽有。

　　The holiday is one of China’s four most important festivals, and in the weeks before the date arrives, top hotels get into the spirit with lavish treats in lovely packaging. Traditionally, the cookie-sized round pastry has a rich thick filling usually made from red-bean or lotus-seed paste and covered by a thin crust. It may also contain yolks from salted duck eggs, integrating a beautiful savory tinge into the sugary taste. Fillings and crusts have become more diverse over time, especially in the hands of skilled pastry chefs.

　　中秋节是中国四大传统节日之一。每当中秋前夕，一些高档酒店都会提供一些配有精美包装的奢华月饼。传统意义上来讲，饼干大小的圆月饼馅料都会比较丰富，口味以红豆沙和莲蓉居多，外面会有一层薄薄的月饼皮包裹。有些月饼馅还含有咸鸭蛋蛋黄，令原本香甜的月饼又增添了一丝别样的风味，口感绝佳。随着时间的推移，尤其是在工艺精湛的面点师手中，月饼皮和月饼馅种类和口味也变得愈发多样化。

　　The moon in Chinese culture represents nostalgia and homesickness, and the top crust of each moon-shaped pastry is generally imprinted with the Chinese characters for longevity or harmony-and often the name of the bakery and the filling.

　　在中国传统文化中，月饼寄托了人们的思乡之情。通常每个月饼外壳上都刻有关于糕点店或是月饼馅的名字，象征着长寿和美满的美好祝愿。

　　This year, the fancy gift boxes that have long driven the mooncake trade are particularly striking and rich with tradition.

　　今年，一度振兴月饼产业的精美礼品盒增添了传统元素，形式更加多样，在市面上也更加引人注目。

　　For example, the Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai, built in 1929 and a magnet for Hollywood celebrities in the 1930s, has prepared a selection of mooncake gift boxes with designs inspired by the beauty and elegance of the hotel’s famous art deco style. The simplest box of four pieces (red-bean paste, creamy custard, plain cheese, green-bean paste) is 198 yuan ($29.64), while more lavish selections of five or six pieces, including mooncakes with egg yolk, run up to 338 yuan for a box.

　　例如，成立于1929年的上海和平饭店在20世纪30年代颇受好莱坞明星的青睐。其酒店内的装饰艺术风格向来以华丽和典雅闻名，受此启发，和平饭店将此次推出的月饼包装盒也设计成高贵典雅的款式。最简单的四块装包装盒(红豆沙味、奶黄味、原味奶酪味以及绿豆沙味)价格为198元(合29.64美元)。诸如价格更为昂贵的蛋黄月饼，五块或六块装的蛋黄月饼光包装盒的费用就在338元左右。

　　Beijing’s Nuo Hotel, meanwhile, has created Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) inspired mooncake gift packs based on the design of porcelain vases in the hotel lobby, with the essence of landscape painting using Zhang Dai’s poetic passages to depict the peaceful harmony of man and nature. The box of six is 158 yuan, and includes mooncakes ranging from cheese mango to charcoal burning fragrant Pu’er tea and white lotus with egg yolk. A box of eight cakes of different flavors is 228 yuan.

　　与此同时，北京的燕翔饭店也吸取了酒店大堂内关于陶瓷花瓶的设计，通过配有明朝文学家张岱诗句的风景画来描述人与自然的和谐，打造推出颇具明朝风格的月饼盒。六块装的包装盒价格为158元，盒内含有芒果芝士、炭烧普洱茶以及莲蓉蛋黄等口味的月饼。八块装(内含不同口味月饼)的月饼包装盒其价格在228元左右。

（编辑：何莹莹）