Chinese netizens get creative with traditional dessert

With the Lantern Festival - it falls on Feb 15 this year - just round the corner, many Chinese have been posting their artistic interpretations of tangyuan, a dessert traditionally consumed during the holiday, on social media.

Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon, the popular official mascots of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics, have even become sources of inspiration for several netizens.

For example, Xinmeier de Manshenghuo, a user on social lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu, received 17,000 likes and hundreds of comments for her post that documented her process of making Bing Dwen Dwen tangyuan, a glutinous rice ball in the shape of the panda mascot.

The user also posted pictures of tangyuan in the shape of Shuey Rhon Rhon, a red lantern, which also drew thousands of likes.

Chinese netizens have also been making tangyuan resembling popular cartoon characters  such as LinaBell, a pink fox from Disney's Duffy & Friends storyline, and tigers, as 2022 marks the Chinese Year of the Tiger.