Residents and visitors in Zitong County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, came together on Monday to celebrate the Laba Festival with the cooking and sharing of festive Laba porridge. Lanterns decorated rural marketplaces, filling the air with holiday cheer as villagers prepared the porridge, enjoyed a communal feast, and prayed for good weather and a bountiful harvest.

Early in the morning, villagers in Gaoqiao Village set up large pots, simmering peanuts before adding preserved pork, mung beans, red beans, glutinous rice, millet, dried lotus seeds, and over ten other local ingredients. “Each ingredient carries a different symbolism… Combining them all expresses our hope for a prosperous and fulfilling life for everyone in the new year,” said chef Yang Yan.

The local recipe also features balloon flower root and ‘Zitong Pianfen’ noodles, adding unique regional flavour. After hours of slow cooking, the aroma filled the streets, and hundreds of people enjoyed the porridge together, marking a joyful start to the Spring Festival season.

Source: China Central Television