In the southwest of China, there is also the custom of drinking mutton soup from winter solstice. Snow-white soup, mutton and viscera sold by the catty are all poured into the soup, and with the rising heat, it seems that everyone has the courage to fight the cold.
Unlike northerners who eat jiaozi on the solstice in winter, southerners eat all kinds of food, including glutinous rice balls, rice cakes, red beans and glutinous rice, winter wine, hot tofu and so on.
Eating glutinous rice balls on the solstice in winter is particularly popular in Jiangnan, China. There is an ancient poem: "Every family beats rice to make dumplings, knowing that it is the winter solstice of the Ming Dynasty". Eating jiaozi in winter solstice is also called "Winter solstice group", which means reunion.
In Taizhou, Zhejiang, people eat "rolling balls" on the solstice in winter. This is a small ball made of glutinous rice flour, boiled in brown sugar and soybean powder. Because this process is called "rolling" in the local dialect, the winter solstice yen is named "rolling", which also means circle and reunion.
Wintering in winter is a must for Suzhou people to spend the winter on solstice. There is an old saying in Suzhou, "Don't drink winter wine on the solstice in winter, but freeze all night." Winter brewing was originally named Dongyang wine, which was named after the rise of Yang after winter. This is a kind of rice wine, which is made of glutinous rice by soaking, steaming rice, cooling, fermenting, secondary fermenting, squeezing, cooling, filtering, and finally adding osmanthus fragrans. It has a strong osmanthus fragrance and a slight sweetness.
In winter solstice, different regions like different diets. In addition to the above, there are many delicious foods with regional characteristics, such as Hangzhou people eating rice cakes in winter solstice, Xiamen people eating ginger duck, Nanchang people eating hot tofu, and Changsha people eating winter bacon.