1. Dumplings Dumplings are an indispensable food on the New Year's Eve dinner table in the north. Dumplings and Jiao are homophonic, which means "Gengsui Jiaozi".

In addition, dumplings are shaped like ingots. Eating dumplings during the Spring Festival means "bringing in wealth." People also wrap coins in dumplings. People who eat the dumplings will have good fortune in the new year.

2. Rice cake. In the early days, people in Suzhou made rice cakes to commemorate Wu Zixu. Later, they gradually became popular all over the country, such as red date rice cake in Shandong, mince rice cake in Beijing, taro rice cake and red/white sugar rice cake in Fujian, and water-milled rice cake in Ningbo.

, Suzhou’s sweet-scented osmanthus sugar rice cake, etc.

Rice cakes, which are homophonic to "nian high", are a must-have food during the Spring Festival and place people's expectations of "nian high" on them.

3. Noodles In some areas of Fujian, noodles (mostly thread noodles) are eaten on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, which means "long-lasting".

4. Fish. The Spring Festival diet pays attention to good meanings, and of course fish is indispensable. It is usually the last dish on the table. In some places, this dish is basically left uneaten, which means "more than enough every year."

And some places are also particular about the choice of fish for New Year's Eve dinner. Silver carp means more than one year after year, crucian carp and carp mean good luck, and salmon means more than wealth.

5. Wontons In Jingjiang, Jiangsu, whether you are entertaining guests, celebrating festivals or celebrating weddings, you must eat wontons.

On the morning of New Year's Eve, every household begins to chop vegetables and stuff them into wontons, which they eat from the 30th of the New Year to the 15th day of the first lunar month. "Wontons are like wine, and the more you eat, the more you get." This expresses the good wishes of Jingjiang people for the new year.

6. Tangyuan. In Sichuan, glutinous rice balls are eaten for breakfast on the first day of the Lunar New Year. The glutinous rice balls on this day are called "Yuanbao", and eating glutinous rice balls is called "De Yuanbao", which means reunion, perfection and sweetness.

On the first day of the New Year, Yangzhou people eat Sixi Tangyuan, which means everything goes well and the family is reunited; Shanghainese also eat Tangyuan for breakfast on the first day of the New Year, which means perfection, wealth and power.

7. Chicken "No feast without chicken" is the mantra of the Cantonese people. People in Guangdong and Hong Kong must eat chicken during the Chinese New Year. The pronunciation of chicken and auspiciousness are similar, which represents good luck in life.

People in Hubei drink chicken soup during the Chinese New Year, which symbolizes peace and tranquility.

Chicken wings mean spreading your wings and flying high, chicken feet mean "making money in the New Year", and eating chicken bones means "getting ahead".

8. Glutinous rice cake Tujia people in Xiangxi, Hunan, have a saying of "Twenty-eight, making rice cake".

On the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, Tujia people make glutinous rice cakes, and Hakka people also have the habit of eating glutinous rice cakes during the festival.

9. Zongzi: The Zhuang people in Guangxi have the custom of eating New Year Zongzi during the Chinese New Year. Zhuang people make or buy Zongzi a few days before the Spring Festival every year. They must eat Zongzi when guests come over on the first or second day of the Lunar New Year.

10. Lettuce: Cantonese people also eat lettuce during the Chinese New Year. Lettuce is a homophone for making money, which means prosperity in the coming year.

11. Poached eggs are part of the Spring Festival customs. Some places have the tradition of eating and giving eggs. They are also essential on the New Year’s Eve dinner table and are called “Reunion Eggs”.

Poached eggs should be eaten on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, and the yolk should be eaten first, which means that the new year will be successful and prosperous.

12. Lucky oranges Lucky oranges are a specialty of Fujian. In some areas, lucky oranges are placed and eaten during the Chinese New Year. Oranges are homophonic to "吉", which means "luck" and "auspiciousness", implying good luck and good luck.