Jiaozi, also known as Chinese dumplings, is a must-have during holidays in Northern China. It is said that people in ancient times began to eat dumplings more than 1800 years ago.

Jiaozi is one of the most important foods in Chinese New Year. Since jiaozi is in the shape of ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots (银锭), it symbolizes wealth (财富). Traditionally, the members of a family get together to make dumplings on New Year’s Eve. They may put a coin in one of the dumplings. The person who finds the coin will possibly have good luck. As the Spring Festival is the start of a new year, people choose to eat jiaozi in the hope of having a good future in the coming new year.

According to your taste, you can make different kinds of Chinese dumplings using different fillings.

There is not set rule as to what makes dumpling fillings. They can be anything from vegetables, meat or seafood. Whatever the fillings are, the wrapping skill (包的技巧) needs to be exquisite (精美的) to make.

jiaozi good-looking.

As China is a country with a vast territory (幅员辽阔), there are differences in different areas in ways of making jiaozi or even serving it. For example, dumpling wrappers are made with a rolling stick in Beijing and Hebei province, while in some parts of Inner Mongolia, wrappers are hand-pressed.

【小题1】When did Chinese people probably begin to have jiaozi?
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【小题2】What does jiaozi symbolize?
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【小题3】Why do people choose to eat jiaozi on New Year’s Eve?
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【小题4】Do people need to follow set rules to make dumpling fillings?
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【小题5】How are dumpling wrappers made in some parts of Inner Mongolia?
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