Zongzi with various types of stuffing satisfies Quzhou locals' appetite for spicy food. [Photo/qzwb.com]

Traditional Chinese festivals all have their symbolic foods – especially the four big traditional festivals. For Spring Festival, people think of dumplings. For Mid-Autumn Festival it's moon cakes. Tomb Sweeping Day has green rice balls. And last but not least, Dragon Boat Festival – or Duanwu Festival – has zongzi, or sticky rice dumplings.

The Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar (June 14 this year) is all about expelling disease, avoiding disaster, and wishing for good health.

Eating handmade zongzi is a longtime custom of the Dragon Boat Festival in China, especially in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province.

The fragrance of zongzi can be smelled from far away, and everyone in the city eats them to satisfy their craving for spicy food. 

Small pieces of tofu make zongzi more tasty. [Photo/qzwb.com]

This type of zongzi is savory and chewy. [Photo/qzwb.com]