Auspicious pomegranate-shaped buns welcome Spring Festival

To welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, folk artists in Zaozhuang, east China's Shandong Province, make aromatic red pomegranate-shaped ximo (auspicious steamed buns) with flour and natural ingredients such as fruit and vegetable juices, carrying wishes for success and a prosperous New Year.

Zaozhuang has long enjoyed the reputation of being the "Hometown of Pomegranates" in China, while pomegranates are generally regarded as a symbol of good luck and an auspicious fruit. As such, red pomegranate-shaped ximo have become a popular gift for relatives and friends on occasions such as elderly people's birthdays, babies' one-month celebrations, young people's weddings, and the Spring Festival in southern Shandong.