A tradition of making Yuanxiao in Shanxi

Residents in the Jinci (Jin memorial temple) area, a well-known tourist site in the suburban area of Taiyuan, Shanxi province, still prefer to eat their traditionally hand-made Yuanxiao, sweet dumplings made of glutinous rice flour, for the Lantern Festival that falls on Feb 22 this year.

"The skills of making sweet dumplings were passed down from my ancestors, and the custom of making them has lasted over 2,000 years," said Han Fuyuan, 64, owner of Han's Mill, the biggest local sweet dumplings maker.

As the Lantern Festival approaches, the mill's business is getting really busy. Three stone rollers work all day long with workers beside them putting rice into rollers and collecting flour.

"We started to work on Feb 9 and ground more than 1,000 kilograms of flour every day for 20 households and ourselves to make sweet dumplings," said Han Wei, in charge of the Han's Mill.

Historically, every family made sweet dumplings at home. They ate them at the festival and also gave them to friends and relatives as a gift in the Jinci town.

Making local sweet dumplings takes a dozen steps, from soaking, milling the flour, to preparing the stuffing and rolling the finished dumplings, consuming over 72 hours, Han Fuyuan said.

Despite the complicated procedure, local residents never get bored with it. With sweetened stuffing flavored with osmanthus, rose, sugar, crushed peanuts, walnut kernel, and sesame, the home-made dumplings taste much better than those sold in the market.

"Urban and fast-pace life has changed the rural areas. Nowadays no more than half the households still keep the tradition of making glutinous rice dumplings by themselves, but I will continue to do it," said Liang Dunhua, a villager of Jinci town, "Those made by oneself are the best."