Family at the core

With their forms and rituals, traditional festivals like Mid-Autumn are charming as it offers a special opportunity for Chinese people to throw off the shackles of restraint and freely express their feelings and utter their love for friends and family, according to Chen.

Despite not being able to visit home, she will make a video call to her parents on the day of the festival to send them her greetings and love.

On the other hand, Chen's parents usually send her some food from home by mail and give her some money to make sure she enjoys a good festival experience while away from home－inviting her to buy herself some nice clothes and good food.

"The routines may get less important, but family always is," Chen says.

While customs and traditions for festivals like Mid-Autumn inevitably evolve with social development, the core of them will not change, according to Guo Wenbin, a writer and cultural critic.

"The goal of traditional festivals is to increase people's sense of belonging and being home," Guo says.

"Even though many people can't go back home during such important occasions, they still have other ways to create a festival atmosphere and find those feelings."