Steamed buns and flower cakes welcome Spring Festival

A villager holds up a flower cake. [Photo by Yan Na for chinadaily.com.cn]

Steaming buns and making flower cakes during the Spring Festival holiday are traditional customs in the northern regions of China. These special snacks symbolize good luck, continuous prosperity, and progress. 

Throughout the Spring Festival holiday, ordinary dough is transformed by villagers in Zhangwan town, Dingtao district, Heze city, Shandong province, into exquisitely shaped works of art, enlivening holiday festivities.

At a grand gathering in Zhangwan town, villagers came together to prepare flour, pork filling, and spices. Everyone had clear responsibilities - some kneaded the dough, some rolled out the dough, and others wrapped the filling, turning their hopes for the Spring Festival into plump and steaming buns.

While the large buns exuded a festive atmosphere, villagers also used red dates and flour to create various flower-shaped cakes. Different patterns and designs created with red dates symbolize people's hope that the coming year is better than the last. (Edited by Huang Junyao)