Peng Yiwan, president of the Xiamen Minnan Culture Research Association, has long studied folk customs. He told reporters that eating tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) during the Lantern Festival was first recorded in the Song Dynasty. According to legend, Chang'e, the moon goddess, was separated from her husband Yi. To reunite with Chang'e, Yi made tangyuan. Eating tangyuan during the Lantern Festival symbolizes "reunion like the moon." In the Northern Song Dynasty, tangyuan was called "fuyuanzi," and it wasn't until the Ming Dynasty that it became known as yuanxiao. In southern China, it is also called tangtuan, tangyuan, or yuanzi. Peng Yiwan said that tangyuan can be savory or sweet, and come in various shapes such as round, flat, peach-shaped, or hexagonal. Some are dyed red, blue, green, etc., resembling colorful glass beads. Tangyuan varies across different regions of China. Beijing has cream tangyuan, with cream mixed into the filling, which is sweet and creamy. Tianjin has honey-filled tangyuan, using honey and white raisins as the filling. Shandong has "Bao塔" (pagoda) tangyuan, where vendors stack the tangyuan into a pagoda shape, insert willow branches, and decorate them with red flowers, using fillings like red bean paste, osmanthus, and red date paste. Shanghai has savory tangyuan, with fillings of pork and chicken, well-balanced in fat and lean, finely chopped and tender. There is also "four joys" tangyuan, with four pieces per bowl, each filled with sesame, red bean paste, osmanthus, and fresh meat, served in clear soup. Ningbo has wine-lees tangyuan, where the soup contains rice wine lees, giving it a wine aroma. Similar dishes exist in places like Changzhou, but Shanghai's Chenghuang Temple wine-lees tangyuan is particularly famous—small round balls are cooked in the wine lees, then topped with flower syrup, creating a warm blend of wine, flower, and sweet-sour flavors that refresh the heart and soul. In Yangzhou, there are many types of tangyuan, ranging from as small as lychee to as large as a wine cup, with varying fillings and flavors. Suzhou has rose tangyuan, filled with rose seeds, small and fragrant. Southern Jiangsu has crab meat tangyuan, rich and full of meat. In Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, "hundred-child" tangyuan, also known as pearl tangyuan, is especially popular—each bowl contains about 100 pieces, shaped like small pearls. Sichuan has chicken oil tangyuan, with pure chicken oil as the filling, white and smooth. When bitten into, a clear layer of oil appears. Five pieces are served in a bowl, which can be soaked in soup or eaten with sesame and sugar, followed by a bowl of original soup. In Xiamen, tangyuan is commonly called "Shangyuan Yuan" or "Yuanshan Tang." It mainly features sweet varieties, with some savory ones. There are two types: filled tangyuan and unfilled sugar water tangyuan. The latter uses white or brown sugar, mixed with peanuts and sesame. Filled tangyuan can be either savory or sweet, with fillings like meat, vegetables, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, or even a mix of various ingredients. Fuzhou has "yuan yang" (dual-flavor) tangyuan, with both sweet and savory flavors in one bowl, and the glutinous rice skin never sticks to the teeth. As the saying goes, "eating in Guangdong," there is sugar-ginger tangyuan, with small sugar pieces as the filling, and soup made with sugar water and fresh ginger, offering a refreshing ginger-sugar flavor. There is also flat savory tangyuan, made with chicken or meat broth, a little yellow mustard greens or radish, and flattened on the palm before being cooked. There is also the "Tang Bu Shi" (No Letting Go) tangyuan, originating from Guangdong and Hong Kong, which is flat-shaped and cooked in syrup. It is only taken out when ready to eat, topped with sesame, peanut crumbs, sugar, and coconut shreds.
Eating tangyuan signifies "reunion," and it is the highlight of the Lantern Festival in China. However, due to regional differences, the shapes and flavors of tangyuan vary.
