In September 2023, customers began lining up around midnight outside Bao Phuong, a long-established mooncake shop in Hanoi, Vietnam. VnExpress reported that one family arrived at 1 a.m. and found hundreds of people already waiting. The Mid-Autumn Festival rush drew not only shoppers themselves but also relatives and paid proxy buyers. One professional buyer said he joined the line from midnight and charged a fee for each box he obtained.
Mooncakes are seasonal gifts meant to be shared, yet intense demand can turn waiting itself into paid work. The wish to bring something home is familiar; what changes is whose body supplies the hours. In this queue, the time of families, customers and hired stand-ins overlaps in front of one bakery.