Eat autumn peaches, dregs, dumplings, eggplants and cool cakes at the beginning of autumn.

1. Eat autumn peaches

Autumn peaches refer to peaches that mature in autumn. On the day of Beginning of Autumn, people eat some autumn peaches to celebrate the arrival of autumn. Autumn peaches have a sweet taste, tender meat, and are rich in nutrients. They are often used to make preserves or fresh fruit platters.

2. Eating "dregs"

In Suzhou, Jiangsu, people have the custom of eating "dregs" during the Beginning of Autumn. The so-called "dregs" refer to foods made with impurities such as rice dregs and bean dregs. On the day of the Beginning of Autumn, people will cook these residues and add sugar and water to make a paste to celebrate the arrival of autumn. This kind of food has low nutritional value, but because it is a traditional holiday delicacy, it is still loved by people locally.

3. Eating dumplings

In Shandong, the custom of making dumplings at the beginning of autumn is called "biting autumn" by the people. On the day of the Beginning of Autumn, older people will offer a bowl full of grains in the middle of the main room, with three sticks of incense on it, praying for a good harvest after the Beginning of Autumn. Most families will chop meat stuffing and make dumplings after the Beginning of Autumn, and the whole family will gather together to "bite autumn". In the Northeast, people usually eat dumplings or steamed buns at the beginning of autumn, which is called "grabbing autumn fat".

4. Eating eggplants

In southern China, people have a folk proverb of "plant eggplants at the beginning of summer and eat eggplants at the beginning of autumn". According to folk custom, on the day before the beginning of autumn, people will put melons, steamed preserved eggplants, fragrant glutinous soup, etc. in the yard to dry overnight and eat them on the day of the beginning of autumn.

5. Eating cool cakes

In places such as Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, people eat cool cakes during the Beginning of Autumn. This pastry is a traditional summer dessert mainly made of mung bean flour, glutinous rice flour, sugar and water. The cool cake has a soft and delicate texture, sweet but not greasy, and is suitable for summer consumption.