Yuanxiao is made on the basis of stuffing. The general process is to mix the stuffing, stir it evenly, spread it into large round pieces, cool it and cut it into cubes smaller than table tennis. Then put the stuffing into a machine like a big sieve, pour the rice flour and "sieve" it. As the fillings collide with each other and become spherical, glutinous rice also sticks to the surface of the fillings, forming Yuanxiao. The layer of rice noodles in Yuanxiao River is very thin and the surface is very dry. When rice noodles are cooked in a pot, they absorb water and become paste.

The practice of dumplings is completely different, similar to Bao jiaozi. Add water to glutinous rice flour first, then mix all the stuffing materials and put them in a large bowl for later use (you don't have to cut them into small pieces like Yuanxiao). The water content of dumpling stuffing is more than that of Yuanxiao, which is one of the differences between them. The process of wrapping jiaozi is also like that of jiaozi, but there is no rolling pin. Wet glutinous rice flour is very sticky, so we have to pull a small group of wet noodles by hand and squeeze them into a circle. Use chopsticks (or thin bamboo tools) to pick a ball of stuffing and put it on the glutinous rice slices, and then turn your hands around to wrap jiaozi. Well-made jiaozi has a smooth and shiny surface.