With the Mid-Autumn Festival just round the corner, Jinan residents have found themselves spoilt for choice when it comes to mooncakes. In addition to traditional flavors such as wuren (a mixture of five different nuts), savory versions filled with local dishes such as bazirou, a kind of stewed pork fillet, are now available in the market as well.

With the rise of guochao, which refers to a trend that is seeing younger buyers drawn to products with Chinese cultural elements, foods associated with traditional festivals like the Mid-Autumn Festival have become increasingly popular with consumers.

This year, Chaoyixing, a time-honored food brand in Jinan, has drawn inspiration from southern-style meat-filled mooncakes and their northern counterpart with wuren filling to create a distinctive Shandong-style mooncake.