【Article by International College of Innovation】

To welcome the new academic year while sharing the warmth of one of Taiwan’s most cherished traditional festivals, National Chengchi University’s International College of Innovation (ICI) held its special Mid-Autumn Festival event, “Tea Meets Mooncake,” on the evening of September 18. Blending the tea culture of nearby Maokong with the traditions of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the event offered students a hands-on opportunity to experience local culture through tea, baking, and cultural exchange.

The event drew enthusiastic participation from ICI students across different year levels, with many international students especially excited to experience a combination of local tea culture and traditional pastry making. Although only a limited number of spots were available to students outside ICI, the event also welcomed freshmen from NCCU’s Department of Ethnology, Department of Sociology, and Department of Arabic Language and Culture. Students from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds came together over the aroma of tea, creating new friendships through an unexpected evening of cross-cultural exchange.

The event was co-organized with the NCCU Office of University Social Responsibility (NCCU USR), which invited An-Ru, manager of Maokong’s Chenxi Tea House and a local tea farmer, to guide students through the mooncake-making experience. To highlight the distinctive flavors of tea-infused pastries, An-Ru specially prepared green tea dough made with locally sourced tea and paired it with a variety of sweet and savory fillings, including taro paste, date paste, and braised pork with mushrooms. Students also had the chance to make another classic Taiwanese souvenir—pineapple cakes.

Throughout the hands-on session, students worked together enthusiastically. There were plenty of lighthearted moments, from accidentally mixing up fillings to making mooncakes in all shapes and sizes, with some students even creating their own imaginative designs. Through laughter, teamwork, and plenty of trial and error, the activity naturally brought students closer together.

Continuing the event’s focus on tea, the NCCU Tea Arts Club prepared an elegant tea setting and offered a series of tea-tasting experiences. Club President Wilson and senior member Filip provided demonstrations and explanations in English, introducing students to different ways of enjoying Taiwanese tea—from traditional large-pot tea served for casual tasting to a formal tea-table presentation and professional tea evaluation.

Students sampled several varieties, including Baozhong tea, high-mountain oolong, and Tieguanyin. The beautifully arranged tea table quickly became one of the most popular parts of the evening, with groups of students gathering around throughout the event to watch, ask questions, and taste the teas. For many international students, it was their first time observing traditional Taiwanese tea brewing at close range. Among the teas served, the traditionally crafted Liujixiang Tieguanyin received particularly enthusiastic responses.

With on-site English interpretation provided by Rimuy Asian, bilingual project assistant at ICI, together with audio guide equipment, international students were able to follow the demonstrations and learn more about the techniques and cultural meanings behind Taiwanese tea. At the end of the evening, students eagerly shared photos of the experience and carefully packed their handmade mooncakes and pineapple cakes into gift boxes, leaving with both a sense of accomplishment and warm memories of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Tzu-Chi Ou, faculty advisor for the ICI USR project, noted that NCCU’s proximity to Maokong gives the university unique access to the area’s rich tea-growing traditions and cultural resources. By incorporating the aromas of locally grown tea and herbs into traditional festival activities, she explained, the experience not only offers comfort and a sense of connection for students living far from home, but also allows international students to discover Taiwan through multiple dimensions—from tea cultivation and tasting to the use of local plants.

Looking ahead, ICI will continue to deepen its commitment to university social responsibility by developing more programs that connect local ecology, culture, and cross-cultural learning, creating opportunities for students from around the world to encounter the beauty of Taiwan at NCCU.