Yichang markets thrive with Qingtuan on Qingming Festival

By Chen Zai, Yichang International Communication Studio
Photo by Gong Changjun
 

Today marks the Qingming Festival.

 

Qingming, or Clear and Bright, is the fifth of the twenty-four solar terms in the traditional lunisolar calendar, signifying the time of year when much of China witnesses a shift to warmer weather, and nature bursts into life with lush vegetation, replacing the cold, barren landscapes of winter. On this day, people visit their ancestors' graves to tend to them by weeding, adding fresh soil, presenting offerings, lighting incense, and pouring alcohol.

 

Those sweeping graves often carry a traditional snack called "Qingtuan," either to be placed at the gravesite or enjoyed during the journey. 

Qingtuan is a delectable green pastry made from glutinous rice flour and the green juice of plants, presenting an exquisite jade-like appearance and offering a fragrant, smooth, and sticky texture upon tasting.

 

In Yichang, you can find Qingtuan specialty counters in all major supermarkets, offering a tempting variety of flavors such as egg and pork, red bean paste, black sesame, and even cheese and yam paste, each kind igniting an instant craving at the mere sight of them.

A great variety of flavors of Qingtuan is being sold on Qingtuan specialty counters in Yichang markets.
 

Originally, Qingtuan was a traditional food of the Cold Food Festival, which can be traced back over two thousand years to the Zhou Dynasty. The "Rites of Zhou" records that due to superstitious beliefs about the stars, there was a fear of sudden fires breaking out between the second and third months of spring, prompting people to put out their stoves and observe a "cold food" period of three days, during which pre-prepared glutinous rice foods like Qingtuan were consumed. Since the Cold Food Festival falls on the day before Qingming, the culinary traditions of the former gradually merged into the latter from the Song Dynasty onwards.