Laotian Mary: We’re family, my workmates and I

"I didn't expect to spend such a wonderful moon festival in Boten." Mary, a Lao employee at the Development Group of Boten Special Economic Zone, north Laos, is still in the 2022 Mid-Autumn Festival air.

On September 10, the group had a long-street banquet, a Laotian art performance, a firework display, a Kongming lantern show and a bonfire party, allowing all employees of the company to enjoy a cheerful atmosphere.

Mary started working for the Boten Special Economic Zone in July 2019. Since the outbreak of the Covid epidemic, most of her Chinese colleagues have stayed in Boten and seldom returned to China for family reunions.

Mary hosts the moon-festival party in the Boten Special Economic Zone. Photo provided to Yunnan Daily

As the Covid has been roughly brought under control in the China-Laos border area, the Boten company specially held this grand event, so that employees from both Laos and China could get together to taste moon cakes and admire the full moon together.

What excited Mary most is that she was chosen as the host of this activity by her colleagues. This is her first time to be a host, but she did it well after all.

"My Chinese work mates treated me like a family member, and it is because of their trust that I had the opportunity to be on the stage." Mary said this party made her better understand the Mid-Autumn Festival.

When lighting up and freeing the Kongming lanterns, the crowd prayed for their dearest ones. The scene reminded Mary of the Lao summer-ending festival, when water lanterns are released. Both folk customs convey the sentiment to relatives and home towns.

"I wish you all a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!” Mary said. “Even living in a foreign country, you’ll see you’re not alone at the sight of the silver full moon."

Reporting by Yang Chunmei and Zi Jianfei (Yunnan Daily); Trans-editing by Wang Shixue