pack of six green rice dumplings, each no bigger than a kid’s fist, caused an absolute spam on a variety of SNS during Qingming Festival of 2016. In front of the time-honoured dessert shop Xinghua Lou in downtown Shanghai, hundreds of people were feverishly queuing up for hours just to get one bite of those dumplings, as if they were all cast upon a spell.

So what exactly, you may wonder, are these popular dumplings?

The sweet green rice dumpling, commonly known as Qingtuan, is a traditional must-have food prevailing in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and the vicinities around Qingming Festival, i.e. Tomb Sweeping Day. It is a regional and seasonal food because some of its major ingredients, such as bromegrass and green mugworts, are mostly planted in the south part of Yangtze River and best edible around this time of year. This may contribute to people’s eagerness for Qingtuan, for if they miss it in the course of Qingming, they’ll have to wait for another whole year before they get the chance to take a little bite.

Besides the limitation of time when Qingtuan is accessible, its lovely looking also adds to its popular appeal. As is mentioned above, Qingtuan is cute in size, usually as small as a child’s clenched fist. Then, the first half of its name, "Qing", indicates the colour — with the use of oil, the surface of Qingtuan reflects a tempting emerald green. As for the smell and flavour, due to the use of herbs, Qingtuan naturally carries a delicate aroma with a pleasant texture. Colour, fragrance and texture combine altogether to make Qingtuan appetising.

According to a historical research, the custom of making Qingtuan dates back to the Tang Dynasty over a thousand years ago. Back then, rather than a food to eat, Qingtuan was served as an offering at ancestral rituals. Before Qingming, every family would gather fresh brome grass and green mugworts to make Qingtuan for their ancestors as an expression of respect.

However, there is a clear difference between ancient Qingtuan and what we eat in modern times, that is, the stuffing. Instead of mere rice balls, contemporary Qingtuan is usually stuffed with sweetened bean paste, or in Xinghua Lou’s case, with salted egg yolk and dried meat floss. This kind of snack has been around for over a hundred years, gradually losing its ritual meaning and having developed into a festive food.

Though not found in Northern China, the custom of eating Qingtuan is not unique or isolated in the southern Yangtze River. In southwestern region, people also gather brome grass to make a certain kind of snack, originally as an offering, with some slight distinctions from Qingtuan in the making.

At the very least, despite the flooding memes of Qingtuan on the internet, it certainly bears the emotional sustenance of people — the commemoration of ancestors, the memory of past years, or even the cultural recognition — in any sense, Qingtuan plays a role of comfort, and thus essential.

This is one of the featured articles by SES Writing Workshop. The author is an undergraduate student of the School of English Studies, Shanghai International Studies University (SISU).