Qingming Festival, a traditional Chinese festival that takes place on the first day of the fifth solar term of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, falls on April 5 this year.
In China, the holiday is associated with the consumption of qingtuan, green dumplings made of glutinous rice and barley grass.
Making qingtuan involves making a flour dough, putting a filling inside, and then shaping and loading the finished products into steaming baskets.
Wuxi is also famous for its "San Rang rice ball", which has three different fillings – meat, red bean paste, and sesame. The rice balls are meant to commemorate the story of "Taibo San Rang", in which a prince named Taibo is praised for his nobility and humility in giving away his crown to his younger brother.
Three famous Wuxi traditional dessert shops have promoted both traditional and new kinds of qingtuan to attract consumers of all ages.
Sanfengqiao
Address: No 24, Zhongshan Road, Liangxi district, Wuxi
Tel: 0510-82700605
Sanfengqiao has invited Chinese dessert masters from Shanghai to teach its chefs. Their qingtuan can weigh over 80g, with 30g of filling.
Three distinct qingtuan, each with a different filling, are being heavily promoted. They include salted egg yolk mixed with dried meat floss, durian and yanduxian (bamboo shoot soup with fresh and pickled streaky pork).
Muguiying Pastry Food
(1) Nanchan Temple branch
Address: No 32, Xiangyang Road, Liangxi district, Wuxi
Tel: 0510-82827088
(2) Chaoyang Plaza branch
Address: No 714, South Jiefang Road, Liangxi district, Wuxi
Tel: 0510-82200977
(3) Rong Xiang branch
Address: No 95 Gongyi Road, Binhu district, Wuxi
Tel: 0510-85512177
As an old traditional Chinese dessert shop in Wuxi, Muguiying provides seven kinds of qingtuan whose fillings include mango, peanut, sesame, red bean and seasonal vegetables.
Yangxian Mao Wu Tou
Address: No 49, Qingyang Road, Liangxi district, Wuxi
Yangxian Mao Wu Tou makes its qingtuan with glutinous rice and ramie, rather than barley grass. Young ramie leaves should be fermented for about ten days to remove the unwanted smell and leave a pleasant fragrance.
