Reunion is the shared aspiration of the Chinese people, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said on Friday at a reception celebrating a key traditional Chinese festival at the embassy.
In remarks celebrating the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, Cui said the Chinese people's aspiration for reunion "goes in the same vein as the ideas of harmony and 'all under heaven belong to one family' in the Chinese culture."
"The Mid-Autumn Festival is a day of reunion. On the evening of this day, family members would gather together to share mooncakes and tell the legends associated with the festival," Cui said.
"People would express their yearning for reunion and nostalgia for their families and hometowns," he said.
Such shared aspiration for reunion is "the most profound part of our cultural identity that sustains the continuous development of China as a country and as a nation," he said, adding "the past seven decades have been extraordinary in the history of the Chinese nation."
Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Cui said "the Chinese nation, tested by hardships that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience, has gone through a great transformation -- we have stood up, grown rich and become strong."
"With the trail toward national rejuvenation blazing, we will and can build a better future for our country and nation," he added.
Cui's words resonated with the about 500 guests attending the event, at which performances were given by a ballet dance troupe and members of the Chinese community near Washington.
The guests also got an authentic taste of the Chinese festival from a live mooncake making demonstration.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar with full moon at night, which symbolizes reunion. The day falls on Sept. 13 this year.
