The Mid-Autumn Festival in China, the second-largest traditional festival after the Spring Festival, is a time to celebrate the harvest and give thanks to nature, and it is often linked to a sense of family and national identity as well as cultural identity. While its most foundational essence remains family reunion, harmony, and familial affection, today it also serves as a key holiday for consumption and cultural tourism. In 2026, Mid-Autumn Festival consumer trends highlighted a shift in how people celebrate. With an extended Golden Week, more families traveled rather than gathered at home, while mooncakes are giving way to more practical and culturally inspired gifts.
Extended Golden Week drove long-distance family reunions
In 2026, the “take 3 days off to get 13 days off” vacation plan went viral. The combination of the autumn break and the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays created an “extended Golden Week.” As of September 14th, search volume for keywords such as “Mid-Autumn Festival” and “National Day” on the Tongcheng Travel platform had increased by 278% MoM, with booking activity for products including flights, hotels, car rentals, and vacations rising across the board.
Consumers who prefer domestic travel were mainly drawn to small cities with stunning natural scenery, such as Chengde and Yibin, or northern cities where autumn is in full swing, such as Yanji. Ticket bookings for international flights during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period exceeded 1.21 million, representing a YoY increase of approximately 4%. Meanwhile, as of September 10th, search volume for the Mid-Autumn Festival “moon-viewing flights” had doubled year-over-year.
Long-distance family reunions are on the rise. Among travelers during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, families and three-generation groups accounted for more than 70%. Others, meanwhile, chose to travel to the cities where their children live for a reunion, thereby avoiding holiday traffic peaks and sparing themselves the hassle of traveling back and forth.
Drop in demand for mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2026
According to numerous sources, mooncakes are experiencing a drop in sales. They have gone from being the “only” gift option to just “one of many,” as diverse categories such as fine tea, hairy crabs and Jinhua ham have become the norm.
Chinese consumers are turning to more affordable mooncakes – ranging from RMB 68 to 200 – and staying away from very lavish packaging that just raises the price of the mooncakes. This is partly due to Chinese consumers becoming more rational and treating mooncakes as enjoyable treats rather than as gifts. According to a survey by iiMedia Research, 55.9% of consumers purchase mooncakes to share with family, while 50.4% buy them for their own daily consumption. For the first time, these two reasons have surpassed gift-giving (42.5%).
Seeking healthier and more practical mooncake gift boxes
Mooncake discussions on Chinese social media platforms focused largely on health. Search volume for “low-sugar mooncakes” climbed 320% YoY. 73% of consumers check the ingredient list when making a purchase, prioritizing low-sugar, additive-free, and food-as-medicine (药食同源) products. As part of its 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival product line, Ju Xiang Yuan, a well-renowned Chinese pastry brand founded in 1918, has launched a series of mooncakes that incorporate healthy ingredients such as Chinese yam, inulin, and erythritol.
Also, in response to demand for more practical gifts, employers – who often gift mooncakes to their employees – increasingly offer mixed gift packages like “mooncakes and nuts and dairy,” “mooncakes and coffee,” and “mooncakes and small appliances”.
Cultural IP and handmade sentiments
Cultural IP is becoming the new benchmark for determining whether a Mid-Autumn Festival gift is impressive enough and worth showing off. According to Tmall data, sales of museum-branded cultural and creative products have maintained a growth rate of over 50% for three consecutive years, and 77 museums from China and abroad have opened official flagship stores on Tmall. Sanyuan Foods has launched a limited-edition Mid-Autumn Festival pure milk gift set featuring the iconic Rabbit God design. The set showcases five classic auspicious motifs, including elephants, qilin, sika deer, lotus flowers, and pixiu, together symbolizing wishes for good fortune and well-being, academic success, and prosperity.
Meanwhile, young people express their regards with handmade gifts. Influenced by social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, handmade gifts, including embroidered sachets and ceramic tea sets, are being rediscovered as thoughtful alternatives to mass-produced goods. A tutorial on how to make “Snow King” ice cream mooncakes using Mixue cups has gone viral, racking up 15.8 million views.
Key Mid-Autumn Festival consumer trends in China
- The Mid-Autumn Festival in China, a holiday centered on families, is becoming more flexible and built around different experiences. More families are celebrating away from home.
- In 2026, if people take three days off, the holiday could extend up to 13 days. This has driven Chinese people to travel. Keyword search volume on “Mid-Autumn Festival” and “National Day” on the online travel Tongcheng platform increased by 278% month-over-month, with bookings for flights, hotels, car rentals, and vacations all on the rise.
- The Chinese mooncake culture is changing. Sales are dropping, with mooncakes moving away from seasonal goods to everyday items. Consumers are buying mooncakes for themselves or to share with others rather than to give as gifts in China.
- Mooncakes have gone from being the “only” gift option to just “one of many,” while high-quality tea, hairy crabs, and Jinhua ham have become commonplace. Cultural IP has become the new standard for determining whether a gift is prestigious enough.
- On social media, many discussions on mooncakes focus on health, with search volume for “low-sugar mooncakes” increasing by 320% YoY.
Author: Sory Park, with additional research by Zhixin Park
