Legend of the mooncake

They may now come in a variety of exotic flavours, but traditional mooncakes have a rich history.

Legend has it mooncakes were invented by Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) rebels to overthrow an oppressive Mongolian emperor. The Han Chinese rebel leader, Liu Futong, hid secret messages calling for an uprising in the cakes before distributing them.

This way he co-ordinated an armed uprising on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, leading to a revolt that replaced the Mongolian Yuan dynasty with the Ming dynasty.