According to research, Zongzi appeared before the Spring and Autumn Period and was originally used to worship ancestors and gods. In the Jin Dynasty, zongzi became the festival food of the Dragon Boat Festival. At this time, in addition to glutinous rice, Alpinia oxyphylla was also added as the raw material for jiaozi, and the cooked jiaozi was called "Yizhi jiaozi".

There are many kinds of zongzi. Judging from the stuffing, there are Beijing jujube dumplings wrapped in dates in the north. In the south, there are many kinds of fillings, such as mung bean, pork belly, red bean paste, eight treasures, ham, mushrooms, egg yolk and so on. Among them, Guangdong bacon zongzi and Zhejiang Jiaxing zongzi are the representatives. 20 12 zongzi was selected as one of the second series of food in the documentary "The Story of China Staple Food on the Tip of the Tongue".