Tauranga's Chinese Mid Autumn Festival will be a colourful display of performances this afternoon.

Also known as the Moon Festival, the Mid Autumn Festival has been celebrated for over 3,500 years and was first documented during the Shang Dynasty in 1600 BC.

This year the Tauranga NZ China Friendship Society are hosting the Chinese Mid Autumn Festival today, Saturday September 28 at the 800-seat Holy Trinity Church in Devonport Rd from 4pm – 6pm.

Anyone is welcome to the free event, and already hundreds have reserved a seat through the Facebook page or by emailing the organisers.

'Please join us for an afternoon filled with culture, performances and giveaways,” says Tina Zhwang, president of the New Zealand China Friendship Society. 'All people are welcome. We will have traditional Chinese dance and qipao.”

The dresses, or qipao, is a body-hugging dress with distinctive Chinese features of Manchu origin. It was called mandarin gown during 1920s-1930s, popularised by Chinese socialites and upper-class women in Shanghai. The Tauranga group's dresses are ornate with jasmine flower petal designs.

The festival will also feature Beijing opera, Chinese instruments, kung fu and Oropi School pupils with their traditional dances.

Getting ready for a Chinese autumn are members of the Oropi School cai wei troupe.

'It's important for kids to learn about other cultures,” says Chinese tutor Jane Mason. 'And because I am Chinese I appreciate the opportunity to sow that seed. The kids like to learn these things, and it's very good for them.”

The Oropi School children have been learning cai wei - a traditional Chinese dance, with its vibrant long-sleeved costumes, slow elegant stylised movements imitating the movements of fairies and the ripples of water and air, telling stories of China's people and its past.

'Ancient China believed that the moon and the water offer strength and rejuvenation. It is during this time of year that villages would come together and celebrate friendship, family and prosperity,” says Tina.

Seats will be limited and the NZ China Friendship Society Tauranga group are expecting a huge turnout so please make sure to RSVP through Facebook or by emailing [email protected]