 It would not be an idle boast to say that Chinese cuisine is one of the greatest in the world. Nor would it be an exaggeration to say that few other cultures are as food-orientated as Chinese culture. During China's biggest national festival, food plays a role as important as the traditions and customs that we have just discussed. Therefore let's turn to Chinese cuisine, something as ancient and established as Chinese culture itself.
According to the Chinese lunar calendar, today is the fifth day of the new year. Consequently I'd like to start our foray into food culture by introducing the customs for today, which is otherwise referred to as Powu, or breaking off on the fifth day. Tradition has it that on this day certain behavior forbidden during the previous part of the festival is now permitted. Women, and especially newly-wedded women, can go back to the homes of their parents or pay visits to friends and relatives. This is also a day when people welcome the God of Wealth and recommence their everyday business. However, these customs are fading out as Spring Festival continues to evolve. Only one habit seems destined to carry on and on, the habit of eating Jiaozi, or stuffed Chinese dumplings. In northern China, the family usually chop the meat and prepare the fillings themselves, to symbolizes the chopping out of bad luck.
The mention of this traditional food is inevitable when talking about either Spring Festival, or Chinese cuisine. However, it is hard to trace the history of Jiaozi precisely. According to historical records, during the Spring and Autumn Period over 2,500 years ago, people in the Yellow River area learnt to grind wheat into flour, and used it to make food stuffed with fillings. Hundreds of years later during the Han Dynasty, a food product was created by the official Zhang Zhongjing to help the poor people get through the cold winter. It was made with all kinds of fillings including mutton, chili pepper and medicinal materials. Following this prototype dumpling, increasing numbers of people began to make what is known today as Jiaozi. These dumplings went on to become an important part of Chinese cuisine, and have even gained the complimentary saying "There is nothing more delicious than Jiaozi".
 Jiaozi are believed to bring fortune and good luck to their eaters, perhaps because of their appearance as shoe-shaped gold or silver ingots. There is no doubt that Jiaozi will appear on most tables during any given Spring Festival. Generally, people prepare them before midnight on the last day of the previous year, before eating them after the New Year's bell is sounded.
Zhao Rongguang is the head of Institute for Chinese Food Culture and writer of "Research on the History of Chinese Food". He says that nowadays the symbolic significance of Jiaozi have even surpassed their taste in importance.
"At the juncture of the passing and new year, Jiaozi are given special significance. These dumplings have always been regarded as the best food that people can ever have. So enjoying the best food wraps up the past and welcomes in good luck for the coming year."
In the old sayings, the year's end is referred to as Nianguan, or as "a pass difficult to cross." The poor usually dreaded the approach of a year's end, for fear of hard time still ahead.
Zhang Lixian is the chief editor of Entertainment Weekly, a Beijing based journal. He jokingly argues that the Chinese are extremely efficient in their food digestion, due to long periods of scarcity and hardship.
"I think the more prosperous a region grows, the less it cares about ceremonialism. It's always the backward regions that are picky about food, because people there can rarely enjoy a big meal all year round. Therefore they tend to pay lots of attention to their end-of-year feast."
Zhang himself comes from the countryside of Hebei province. He recalls the times when his whole family would eagerly prepare for the most important meal of the year. Besides Jiaozi, Niangao is also very popular in his hometown. This staple food is made of glutinous rice flour and comes in thumb sized nuggets. Niangao's popularity during Spring Festival has come about since it has a homonym, which translates as "getting higher and higher year after year." This preserved food is therefore a must-eat in many parts of China, especially its southern provinces. This food is completely hand-made: the sticky rice is soaked in water, then grinded, drained using a muslin cloth, and steamed with various ingredients.
The taste of Niangao varies from region to region. In the south, Niangao can be either sweet or salty, depending on how it's cooked. Mint, sweet osmanthus and roses are all usable as ingredients. In the north, Niangao is usually served sweet with sugar, dates or bean paste.
Zhang Lixian says that Niangao was one of his favorite foods when he was a little boy. He says that he misses the dishes he ate in the countryside, which were cooked in a large iron pot, using the straw of corn for fuel.
Besides our aforementioned foodstuffs, fish is another indispensable dish during the Spring festival. Part of the symbolism surrounding fish comes from the fact that the Chinese word for fish, yu, sounds similar to the word for riches or abundance. In the Yangliuqing area of Tianjin city, festive paintings from the Ming Dynasty show boys and girls holding fishes, attesting to this food's long festive history.
Today there is plenty of food to choose from in China, and many traditional dishes have become common all year round. People are therefore turning to other methods of celebration. Here's Zhang Lixian again.
"Now if you like, you can eat Jiaozi or Niangao at any time. So whom you dine with is of more significance. For people like me, who are far from their parents, it's not an easy thing to find an opportunity to be with their parents. So it doesn't matter what we eat, but whom we eat with."
Although the role of some traditional foods seems to be fading, gastronomist Zhao Rongguang believes that some things will never disappear.
"Traditions are changing, but not vanishing. The entertaining function of these traditions will remain and even be strengthened. However, they will appear in new forms. The changes in lifestyle will inevitably bring changes in eating habits and food culture. This is quite normal."
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