Southwest China's Sichuan celebrate Laba Festival with festive porridge

Residents and visitors in Zitong County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, cooked and shared Laba porridge, a traditional festive dish, on Monday to celebrate the Laba Festival and welcome the approaching spirit of the Chinese New Year.

In Zitong of Sichuan's Mianyang City, festive lanterns adorned rural marketplaces, filling the air with a holiday atmosphere. Villagers gathered to prepare Laba porridge, enjoy a Laba feast, and pray for favorable weather and a bountiful harvest in the coming year.

The Laba Festival, observed on the eighth day of the 12th month in the lunar Chinese calendar, serves as a prelude to the Chinese New Year. This year, the festival falls on Monday, marking the start of the month-long festivities leading up to the Spring Festival.

Early in the morning, villagers in Gaoqiao Village, Wenchang Town of Zitong, set up four large pots.

They started by simmering peanuts for 30 minutes, then added preserved pork, mung beans, red beans, and over 10 other local ingredients.

The typical Laba porridge generally contains at least eight ingredients, a fortunate number in Chinese culture, including glutinous rice coupled with red beans, millet, Chinese sorghum, dried lotus seeds and a mix of other ingredients. It usually takes many hours to make the porridge.

"Each ingredient carries a different symbolism. The preserved pork is a winter specialty here, and the assorted grains represent the harvest's bounty. Combining them all expresses our hope for a prosperous and fulfilling life for everyone in the new year," said Yang Yan, the chef.

Unlike traditional Laba porridge, the local recipe also includes the medicinal herb balloon flower root and a local delicacy called 'Zitong Pianfen' (noodles made from mung bean) to cater to diverse tastes.

After over two hours of slow simmering, the aroma of the Laba porridge filled the streets. Both local villagers and outside visitors could receive it for free.

"In previous years, we cooked and ate Laba porridge at home. Today, having hundreds of people gathered joyfully together, with delicious food and laughter filling the hall, this is truly the most flavorful way to celebrate Laba," said Chen Kaiyang, a tourist.

Southwest China's Sichuan celebrate Laba Festival with festive porridge

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