The Qingming Festival, also known as the Spring Outing Festival, is a traditional Chinese holiday and one of the most important sacrificial festivals. In addition to the enduring traditions of ancestor worship and tomb-sweeping, ancient customs of the Qingming Festival also included playing on swings, Cuju (an ancient form of football), flying kites, and cockfighting.
In traditional culture, the Qingming Festival is a major holiday formed by the fusion of three elements: the "Qingming" solar term, the Hanshi (Cold Food) Festival, and the Shangsi Festival. Unlike other traditional Chinese festivals, the Qingming Festival does not have a uniform set of foods to eat; instead, culinary preferences vary by region.
In northern China, it is a custom for many to eat eggs during the Qingming Festival, symbolizing completeness and fulfillment. Old Beijingers enjoy eating Sanzi Mahua (fried dough twists), Lüdagun (glutinous rice rolls with red bean flour), and Miancha (a type of millet porridge). Meanwhile, in Shanxi—the birthplace of the Cold Food Festival—there is a tradition of eating "cold food," which includes steamed "Zitui Mo" (a type of steamed bun) and "Zitui Yan" (swallow-shaped pastries). These buns are filled with walnuts, red dates, and peanuts, and are called "Zifu," symbolizing the ancestors' blessings for the continuous prosperity of the family line.
Besides the traditional red bean paste filling, there are also fillings made of Malantou (a type of green), Jicai fresh meat, and salted egg yolk with pork floss... I heard that the trending Qingtuan this year is the cured fresh bamboo shoot flavor. Has anyone tried it?
In terms of nutritional value, the main ingredient of Qingtuan, glutinous rice, is rich in starch. Compared to rice, it contains less amylose and more amylopectin, making it more difficult to digest and break down in the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, individuals with poor gastrointestinal function should consume it in moderation.
Wheatgrass juice is rich in chlorophyll and superoxide dismutase (SOD), which have antioxidant effects. It is also high in minerals (potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium) and vitamins (vitamin B1, B2, beta-carotene, vitamin C).
Around the time of the Qingming Festival, various wild vegetables become available. In the Jiangnan region (south of the Yangtze River), common wild vegetables include Jicai (shepherd's purse), Malantou, and Xiangchun (toon). Dishes like Jicai tofu soup and scrambled eggs with toon are popular delicacies on the dinner table. Wild vegetables are nutritionally rich, boasting higher levels of vitamins (B1, B2, C, and pro-vitamin A), dietary fiber, and minerals compared to common vegetables.