A local troupe performs a fire dragon dance in a shower of molten iron sparkling like fireworks at the Wuhan Happy Valley amusement park in February 2018. [Photo by XIONG QI/XINHUA]

This year's Lantern Festival arrives on Tuesday. Besides being a time for families to gather once more, in the old days it was also the Chinese "Valentine's Day". In feudal society, most young women were not allowed to leave the house, but on Lantern Festival, all people could go out into the streets for the whole night to see the lanterns-it was a good opportunity for men and women to meet and fall in love.

Named yuanxiaojie, eating yuanxiao (glutinous rice balls with different fillings) is the most indispensable tradition during the day. While yuanxiao is made and eaten in northern China, people in southern China prefer to eat tangyuan, a similar food, but with a different preparation.

To make yuanxiao, the fillings are made and cut into small blocks first, and then tossed on a sieve with glutinous rice flour until it shapes itself into a ball.