A dancer performs at a Mid-Autumn Festival gala in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sept. 21, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)

Ten-year-old Nguyen Minh Khang had known China mostly from books. A Mid-Autumn Festival gala on Monday evening in Hanoi, featuring traditional music from China and Vietnam, gave him a first taste of that culture and sparked his curiosity.

"I found the gala very enjoyable and interesting," Khang said, adding that it offered him a new way to experience the festival beyond celebrating it with his family as he usually does each year.

The festival program, held under the theme of sharing the same moon and neighborly ties, and an accompanying bazaar featured performances, cuisine, intangible cultural heritage, photography and cultural products from Vietnam and southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The gala was jointly hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam and the Publicity Department of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, and organized by Yunnan Radio and Television.

For 75-year-old Hanoi resident Hoang Duc Vuong, the evening brought particular joy after a long time without attending a live artistic performance.

"With the festival approaching, the theme itself feels very joyful, and after coming here to watch, I found the program truly wonderful," Vuong told Xinhua.

The gala was held ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival on Friday, which falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month and is celebrated in both China and Vietnam.

"Tonight feels like a gathering of the cultures of the two countries, so everything feels very familiar and joyful to me," Vuong said.

The night featured a rich array of performances centered on the moon, reunion and cultural traditions shared and appreciated by artists and audiences in both countries.

Vietnamese conductor Dong Quang Vinh and his Chinese wife Mo Shuangshuang, a soprano, performed together, an experience that for Vinh also reflected the way the Mid-Autumn Festival has become part of his family life across both Vietnamese and Chinese cultures.

"For me, it feels as if I can celebrate two Mid-Autumn Festivals on the same day," Vinh told Xinhua, saying that experiencing the festival through both Chinese and Vietnamese cultures made the occasion even more meaningful.

Beyond his personal experience of the festival, Vinh said he was encouraged by the warm response from audiences to the collaboration between artists from the two countries.

"Today we performed together with Chinese artists, presenting works from both China and Vietnam, and the audience responded very warmly," he said.

For Nguyen Lan Phuong, a university student in Hanoi, the gala was a great chance for her to explore more about traditional music from both countries.

"The performances tonight were truly eye-catching," Phuong told Xinhua, adding that the displays featuring elements of both Vietnamese and Chinese culture were also diverse and engaging. 

A singer and dancers perform at a Mid-Autumn Festival gala in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sept. 21, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)