Buying a mooncake for the Mid-Autumn Festival is not a difficult task, but identifying a safe, quality item from the myriad available could be.
With a month to go for the Mid-Autumn Festival (September 13), the mooncake market is heating up with numerous offerings ranging from renowned brands and quality handmade or imported products to items with questionable quality. But the huge range of choices means customers are confused about which one is of good quality to buy.
It’s not difficult to see how much consumers are confused and hesitant because of the array of mooncakes of varying quality available in the market. Experts warned about expired and moldy products unsold the previous year and given a makeover and a fresh look.
Besides, many unapproved additives might be used recklessly, they noted. Having an eye-catching look or being labeled "handmade" or "imported" does not guarantee that a mooncake is really delicious or safe to eat.
Dr Tran Van Ky, an expert from the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), said, "Mooncakes are made from a number of ingredients like flour, egg, meat and meat-based products, nuts, beans, fruit and condiments, and undergo multiple processing steps.
Mooncake ingredients might be exposed to microbial infections like mold or parasites, toxic pollutants like prohibited antibiotics, animal feed supplements...
"The production and storage conditions and the baker's health also affect the hygiene and safety of mooncakes."
Ky advised people to be careful when choosing mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Firstly, they should carefully check the packaging and appearance of the product, making sure there was no unusual odor or color.
Besides, the plastic cover should be kept intact for optimal preservation, something that was well controlled by prestigious brands with advanced production lines.
Generally, mooncakes remained at their best for 50-75 days. Customers should choose prestigious mooncake brands with clear and sufficient information including manufacturing date, expiry date and ingredients.
The cakes should be stored in optimal conditions and enclosed with oxygen absorbers to not only prevent deterioration but also maintain an anaerobic environment, which helped retain freshness and flavor for a longer time.
Mooncakes, which have a high content of fats and fresh ingredients, are prone to oxidation.
"Be careful with expiry dates of handmade mooncakes since they are made without conforming strictly to food safety and hygiene standards unlike those manufactured in state-of-the-art industrial production lines."
The appearance was also important for mooncakes, which was demonstrated by creative and elaborate packaging to match the good quality.
A mooncake with a great appearance and taste is an ideal gift of love, care and best wishes at family reunion occasions like the Mid-Autumn Festival. Enjoying mooncakes is an art.
This is the art showcased in premium mooncakes that guarantee the highest levels of safety and quality, elegant and exquisite packaging, and love and care behind each unique mooncake.
Choosing mooncakes with high safety and quality standards can make the Mid-Autumn Festival more meaningful.
In recent years, Ta Xua, dubbed "the paradise of clouds", has emerged as one of the mountainous destinations attracting strong interest from young travellers, particularly for its spectacular sea of clouds stretching across the mountains in the northwestern region.
Training local young people in filming, audio recording, digital storytelling, data preservation and responsible use of AI can help build a new generation of cultural custodians. This, in turn, can help transform cultural heritage into a resource for economic development while contributing to the country’s broader development.
The exhibits are presented as historical and legal materials proving Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa in the East Sea.
With growing recognition of indigenous knowledge, customs and cultural values as unique assets, ethnic communities in the northern mountainous region are shifting from simply providing tourism services to becoming creators and owners of tourism products, confidently telling their own cultural stories
When local people remain the custodians of their resources, tourism can become a reason for them to stay, maintain their livelihoods, and renew community value rather than replacing it.
Alongside the RoK, Da Nang has stepped up tourism promotion in India, Japan, China, Russia and CIS countries, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Jonathan Wallace Baker, UNESCO Representative to Vietnam, noted that the official proclamation of the 2027–2036 period as the "International Decade of Culture for Sustainable Development" comes at a particularly important moment. As the international community works to accelerate progress towards the 2030 Agenda while beginning to consider what comes after 2030, the Decade provides a ten-year framework to strengthen the place of culture in development.
Under Resolution 80-NQ/TW, dated January 7, 2026, November 24 was designated Vietnam Culture Day, to be observed annually. The occasion aims to give the public opportunities to participate in, create and enjoy cultural activities, helping spread positive values and foster pride in Vietnamese culture.
"Vietnam is part of my life," affirmed Patricia Abarzua Munoz, emphasising that the friendship between the Chilean and Vietnamese peoples is built on shared values and mutual respect.
For the MICE tourism sector in both Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam, growth can no longer be driven merely by increasing the number of events; instead, the focus must shift to enhancing the value of each event and the competitiveness of each destination.
Women’s football movements in local communities have been quietly growing, but they’ve now built up enough momentum to inspire organisers to launch the first Vietnam Ethnic Minority Women’s Football – VTV Cup in 2026.
For 2026, Vietnam's tourism sector is targeting 25 million foreign arrivals, 150 million domestic trips and total revenue of 1.125 quadrillion VND (43 billion USD).
Vietnamese film Quan Ky Nam (Ky Nam Inn) has won several awards at the 25th Imagine India International Film Festival (IIIFF) in Madrid, including Best Director.
According to the magazine, boat trips into Phong Nha Cave and strolls through Paradise Cave (both family-friendly) offer a tantalising glimpse of their astonishing scale, but the real adventure lies deeper within the park, where cavers wade through underground rivers and weave among stalagmites.
Tourism effectiveness should be measured not only by visitor numbers and revenue, but also by spending, length of stay, repeat visits, job quality, visitor satisfaction and environmental carrying capacity, said experts.
The National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance reported that Vietnam welcomed nearly 2 million international visitors in August, up 19.7% from July and 18.4% year-on-year. The figure represented 63.6% of the tourism sector’s full-year target of 25 million arrivals.
For the Mong people in Ta Dung, Dak R’mang is not merely a weekly rendezvous, but a space preserving memories of their northwestern hometowns and cultural identity in their new land.
Ngo Phuong Ly, the spouse of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam, said the two countries share similarities in silk weaving and can enrich their cultural heritage through exchanges and experience sharing.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism said on late September 2 that the southern metropolis welcomed an estimated 1.65 million domestic visitors and 62,000 foreign tourists over the break.