The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and once more we would hear the beating of gongs and drums and be shrouded by the sweet bouquet of rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves. The dragon boat race is an essential part of the act. The boats would be adorned with banners, lanterns and a drum, besides a dragon head fitted at the bow and a dragon tail at the stern. To prepare for the races, each boat must be thoroughly inspected and any defects immediately fixed, and the crew expertly trained. At the start of a race, people would gather together to worship the Dragon God, and to ask for the fulfilment of two wishes: bringing in clement weather and driving out pestilence, so that farmers may harvest bumper crops and that family members may enjoy excellent health.

Talking about rice dumplings, the Cantonese variety is the most hearty: as soon as you unwrap the steaming hot bamboo leaves, you can find inside the glutinous rice, that is as soft as cotton wool, all sorts of delicacies like char siu, pork belly, egg yolks, chestnuts, mushrooms, dried shrimps, mung beans and ham from Jinhua, each one weighing two to three pounds, enough for several people to dig into.

In some other South China cities such as Suzhou and Ningbo, people like to wrap their rice dumplings into the shape of a tetrahedron. The Suzhou ones tend to be long and thin, filled with fresh meat, jujube and bean paste, and very beautifully wrapped, whereas Ningbo is famous for its jianshuizhong (soda water dumpling). The rice, having been steeped in soda water before cooking, would take on a faint sheen of amber, and the dumpling's unique appearance of subtle elegance appeals to many people who prefer to serve it simply with refined sugar. Rice dumplings in South China are all made with leaves of the bamboo plant, as it is widely available. People would go into a bamboo grove just before sunrise to gather fresh green leaves - the best material for the wrapping of rice dumplings.

Health nowadays is an important issue, so the traditional rice dumplings, though very delicious, should only be eaten in moderation. Some people would replace the usual fillings with fish and chicken, and mix in various cereals to increase the fibre content, turning out rice dumplings that are full of tasty proteins to be enjoyed by both the young and the old.

For those who prefer something stronger, they can try curried dumplings with distinctive flavours by first cooking the rice in a curry sauce, then mixing in fresh ingredients according to well known curry recipes.