The change of the season also brings about a change in the dishes on dining tables. In Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, fresh spring vegetables always take the spotlight during this time of the year.

For example, Chinese toon leaves are usually minced and stir fried with eggs, while California bur clover can be eaten stir fried or made into stew or pancakes with other ingredients.

Spring bamboo shoots are made into stew with salted meat and black fungus. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]

Other popular dishes include spring bamboo shoots stewed with salted pork and shepherd's purse wrapped in wonton skin. Indian aster and young rape are also popular among locals.

Besides vegetables, braised river snails in brown sauce and qingtuan, a form of dumplings made of glutinous rice mixed with the juice of barley grass and filled with sweet red bean paste, are also must-haves during spring.

Qingtuan is usually consumed by Zhangjiagang residents in spring. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]