The Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reported on Thursday that fifth-grade pupils of primary school in the city's Zhabei District were shocked to learn that package of eight million boxes of moon cake consumed by Shanghai people in 2004 could make a building as large as the famous Jinmao Building, which weighs in with a height of 420 meters and a total area of 287,359 square meters.

The pupils learned the news from their nature books - textbooks on environmental protection which have been introduced for the first time in a bid to educate children from a very young age.

Dr. Zhang Qingfei from Shanghai Gardening Institute hailed the move, saying it was important for children to pay attention to environmental issues from an early age, as adults are reluctant to change their living habits. He said the moon cake boxes are a big waste of natural resources, as they are made for non-recyclable materials.

One teacher from Zhabei Experimental Primary School said that there were no chapters on ecological issues and development in old textbooks. Now children can learn the ideas of ecological issues and urban development.

Dr. Zhang criticized the moon cake packaging trend that tended to create a spiraling level of waste in the drive to manufacture boxes, small and big, in various patterns with different luxury materials. The packaging industry develops at the price of the environment, as it takes ten or more years for a small tree to grow into a large one.

Shanghai is suffering from over-luxury in moon cake packaging, but next year China will introduce national compulsory regulation on moon cake package, which will come into effect on June 1, 2006. It stipulates that package cost cannot take up more than 25 percent of the total production price of moon cakes.

(CRI September 9, 2005)