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2026.03.28 16:37 GMT+8

Sinan Qingming cake carries seasonal folk customs

Updated 2026.03.28 16:37 GMT+8
CGTN

People pick wild vegetables to make Qingming cake in Sinan, southwest China's Guizhou Province on March 21, 2026. /Tongren Media Convergence Center

Fillings to make Qingming cake are seen in Sinan, southwest China's Guizhou Province on March 21, 2026. /Tongren Media Convergence Center

People make Qingming cake in Sinan, southwest China's Guizhou Province on March 21, 2026. /Tongren Media Convergence Center

Qingming cakes are steamed in Sinan, southwest China's Guizhou Province on March 21, 2026. /Tongren Media Convergence Center

Qingming cakes are seen in Sinan, southwest China's Guizhou Province on March 21, 2026. /Tongren Media Convergence Center

People enjoy Qingming cake in Sinan, southwest China's Guizhou Province on March 21, 2026. /Tongren Media Convergence Center

As Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, draws near, Sinan Qingming cake from southwest China's Guizhou Province makes its annual appearance as a special seasonal food.  

The core ingredient of Qingming cake is Qingming vegetable, or known by its scientific name Gnaphalium affine, a wild herb that grows naturally in the mountains. It is best picked and eaten around Qingming Festival. Besides its strong fragrance, it also has health-preserving effects. After being cleaned, cut into sections and boiled to make a juice, the picked Qingming vegetable is mixed with glutinous rice flour and sticky rice flour to make a green dough. Then it is filled with stir-fried fillings made of local specialty bacon and seasonal wild ingredients such as Houttuynia cordata, or fish mint. Finally, steam it until cooked.

People long ago believed that eating Qingming cake during Qingming is not only a way to honor ancestors, but also carries wishes for good weather and a bumper harvest. This custom has been passed down from generation to generation in Sinan, becoming a vivid cultural symbol of Qingming Festival.

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