Start your spring with a tasty treat

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02:09

Li Chun, the Start of Spring and the first of the 24 solar terms, marks the beginning of the season and the new year. This year, it fell during the Spring Festival.

The Start of Spring is more than just a solar term, it also brings people a sense of hope and a new start after enduring a long winter. The days become longer, birds begin to return and flowers start to blossom. In the following 15 days, the weather is expected to get warmer and warmer.

Plants come back to life in spring. /VCG Photo

As the old Chinese saying goes: “Make your whole year's plan in the spring and the whole day's plan in the morning.” That's how much people cherish this season.

In order to embrace the most precious time of the year, there are many springtime traditions in China that people enjoy – eating spring rolls is a tasty one.

A tasty bite of spring

Spring rolls are one of the most popular dim sums not only in China but also in East and South Asia. They are also familiar to many diners in western countries.

Use the freshest vegetables for the filling: carrots, bean sprouts, fragrant-flowered garlic, shiitake mushrooms and agaric. The colorful fillings represent the many plants that come alive during the season.

Spring rolls. /CGTN Photo

Finely slice shiitake mushrooms, carrots, glass noodles and agaric, blanch all the ingredients then stir fry them. Add salt, sugar and black pepper. Wrap the filling with spring roll wrappers. Deep fry them until they turn golden brown.

Biting the spring rolls is called “Yao Chun,” which literally translated as "taking a bite of spring." Chinese people believe it will bring good luck and fortune to the new year.

Camera operator: Ma Jian

Top image designer: Du Chenxin

Video Edotor: Ge Kai