“Little one, little one, don’t be so greedy—once Laba is over, the New Year is just around the corner.” The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month marks China’s traditional Laba Festival. Since the pre-Qin era, this day has been observed as a time to honor one’s ancestors and pray for a bountiful, auspicious year ahead. In modern times, people prepare Laba porridge and pickle Laba garlic, quietly awaiting the arrival of the new year amid a sense of ritual and tradition.

“Grains and millet are cooked into porridge, simmered with beans.” Traditional Laba porridge boasts a rich array of ingredients: glutinous rice, red beans, kidney beans, lotus seeds, ginkgo nuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, red dates, longan, and more—soaked beforehand and then slowly simmered. A suitable amount of sugar and honey is added, resulting in a sweet, tender, and slightly sticky texture. In Luzhi, they also incorporate “the eight aquatic treasures”—taro, water chestnuts, arrowhead, and other local delicacies—giving the dish a distinctive flavor unique to this waterside region.

Sweet rice cakes are an indispensable part of the festive spirit in this land of fish and rice. White glutinous rice flour is kneaded with water to form a smooth dough, which is then steamed—either plain with brown sugar or stuffed with shredded radish, fresh pork, red bean paste, and other fillings—yielding a round, heartwarming taste that captures the essence of the New Year.

For Luzhi, rice cakes are more than just a food—they are the quintessential taste of life, refined by the passage of time. Soft and glutinous, they embody the fruits of a year’s hard work and carry with them the cherished memories of the New Year, passed down through generations. With their gentle sweetness and the delicate aroma of rice, they exude an unmistakable warmth, suffusing the air with the sense of fulfillment and joy that comes with the festive season.

“In the twelfth lunar month, every household in Luzhi begins to cure its pork. The deep brown cured meats, hung alongside red lanterns, create a distinctive scene beneath the dark-tiled eaves. Cured fish, cured pork, cured chicken, cured duck—everything can be preserved by smoking and drying—and in Luzhi, the festive spirit of the New Year ferments and ripens under the warm winter sun, transforming into the indispensable flavors of cured delicacies on the dining table.”

Within the savory‑umami of cured pork lies the concentrated essence of the New Year, and it ferments a taste of happiness. Whether steamed or simmered in soup, its rich, salty‑savory flavor elevates any dish. It’s only with that smoky, cured aroma that the spirit of the season truly comes alive.

A clear spring trickles over white stones, while countless frosty droplets dye the jade-like lotus blossoms. As all things wither and fade, water chestnuts quietly ripen in the depths of winter; after a season of dormancy, their jet-black skins encase snow-white flesh, exuding a delicate, crisp sweetness of the season.

Water chestnuts are one of the must‑have New Year delicacies in Luzhi. When tossed into fried meatballs, their crisp‑yet‑tender little bits lend the dish a rich, layered texture and a fresh, fragrant note that cuts through richness while keeping everything juicy. But the real highlight is the pot of “yuanbao rice”: fragrant grains cradle two plump water chestnuts, and when you pick up a bite, it’s called “fishing for yuanbao”—a lucky omen that prosperity will flow in from the very first meal of the new year.