A unique collaboration in Guangzhou is transforming mooncakes into time machines for the Mid-Autumn Festival. This year, China Hotel and the Guangzhou Museum have partnered to revive a set of long-lost Cantonese mooncake recipes, bringing history, flavor, and craftsmanship into one beautifully layered cultural project.
The initiative is part of an ongoing effort to rediscover the iconic Cantonese cuisine of early 20th-century Guangzhou. Drawing from archival menus, newspaper ads, and family recipes, chefs at China Hotel have recreated flavors that haven't been seen—or tasted—for decades. Among them are the Cured Sausage Mooncake, Roast Chicken Mooncake, Drunken Beauty Mooncake, and Phoenix Mooncake, a nod to prosperity and renewal. Each is crafted with modern palates in mind, preserving authenticity while adapting to contemporary tastes and health preferences.
To house these edible memories, the hotel collaborated with the museum to design a gift box inspired by a Qing dynasty artifact from the museum's collection: a black lacquer sewing box decorated with golden scenes of courtyard life. The result is the "Yue Se Zhong Guo" (Colors of Canton) series—where culinary heritage meets Lingnan aesthetics, and food becomes a medium for cultural storytelling.
Another standout is the "Moonlight Treasure Box," which fuses Cantonese embroidery patterns with poetic symbolism—such as "cranes and deer in spring" and "phoenix at sunrise." Inside are more rare and nostalgic flavors: Galaxy Night Mooncake, Drunken Beauty Mooncake, and a retro favorite from the 1960s: a steamed egg yolk mooncake wrapped in bean paste made with scallion oil and chicken fat—an old-school combination that blends savory depth with subtle sweetness.
The packaging, styled like an antique wooden chest, can even be reused as a three-layer storage box—bridging the gap between museum and modern home.
In a city known for innovation, this collaboration is a reminder of what endures: stories preserved in flavor, art passed down through generations, and the joy of reunion under the autumn moon.
Reporter: Li Fangwang
Photo: Li Fangwang
Editor: Hu Nan, James, Shen He
