The upcoming Duanwu Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, has boosted the consumption of Zongzi, a Chinese traditional food made of sticky rice and other stuffing wrapped in bamboo leaves, across China, with producers and sellers engaged in enriching the flavors to satisfying people's taste buds.
The Duanwu Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, will be celebrated on Saturday (May 31) this year.
In east China's Shandong Province, Zongzi of traditional flavors and other healthy customized Zongzi have attracted many consumers.
At a supermarket in Heze City of Shandong, the Zongzi sales area near the entrance has been the most prominent, with traditional ones stuffed with red bean paste and preserved dates in the central position. Besides, innovative ones stuffed with Chinese yam and walnuts are also sparking people's interests in tasting them.
"I'd like to buy some Zongzi with less sugar and fat for the elderly in my family," said Wang Shiying, a consumer.
"We prepared Zongzi for Duanwu two weeks ahead of the festival. We set up a special area with Zongzi of various flavors put together for consumers to select," said Zhang Cheng, manager of the supermarket.
Besides finished Zongzi, the supermarket also sells ingredients including sticky rice, bamboo leaves and dates for consumers to make Zongzi by themselves at home.
Restaurants in Shitang Town of Wenling City, east China's Zhejiang Province, have stuffed Zongzi with meat and seafood to offer customers with more options.
"Our Zongzi is stuffed with meat, shrimps, razor clams, mushroom and peanut," said Lin Xiuyu, a restaurant owner.
Lin said they began to make Zongzi half a month before the festival, and their products still falls short of the demand though they can make around 800 ones every day.
In southwest China's Yunnan Province, Zongzi leaves have become new important products for border trade at the Hekou Port.
At a local agricultural company, workers are busy sorting out, processing and packaging Zongzi leaves imported from Vietnam for refrigerated storage. These leaves will be sent to markets in northeast and east China.
Duanwu Festival boosts Zongzi market across China
