Every year, when autumn arrives and the moon hangs big and bright in the night sky, millions of people across China and around the world gather to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. They eat mooncakes, light lanterns, and look up at the full moon. But beneath this beautiful celebration lies one of the most poetic stories in all of Chinese mythology — the tale of Chang’e, the moon goddess who flew to the heavens and now lives in the moonlight forever.

If you’ve ever looked up at a full moon and wondered about the stories people once told about it, this legend is a great place to start. It’s a story about love, sacrifice, and the loneliness of immortality. It’s also a story that still shapes how millions of people think about the moon today.