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According to the Rites of the Zhou, there were already activities such as "welcoming the cold at mid-autumn night" and "worshipping the moon at the autumnal equinox" in the Zhou Dynasty. In the middle of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, a series of ceremonies and celebrations are held to thank the gods and goddesses for their blessings. At the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the temperature is already cool before it gets cold, the sky is high and the moon is in the sky, which is the best time to see the moon. As a result, the moon rituals were gradually replaced by moon viewing and the rituals faded away, while the festival continued and was given a new meaning.

The formalisation of the festival and its prevalence among the people in particular dates from the Song dynasty. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the 15th day of the 8th month was officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the festival became the second most important traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, families would set up "moonlight places", prepare mooncakes with fruits and melons, and "make offerings to the moon and worship". The mooncakes must be round and the fruit cut into lotus-like petals. The market sells moonlight paper with designs of the Moon God and the Jade Rabbit pounding medicine. After the moon festival, the paper is burnt and the fruitcakes are distributed to each member of the family. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a time of family reunion, when people give each other moon cakes to express their good wishes, and many families also host feasts to enjoy the moon.

The festival has been celebrated since ancient times with moon festivals, moonlight viewing, eating mooncakes, playing with lanterns, enjoying osmanthus flowers and drinking osmanthus wine. The Mid-Autumn Festival has become a colourful and precious cultural heritage, with the fullness of the moon as an omen for the reunion of people, to express the longing for the homeland and loved ones, and to pray for a good harvest and happiness.