Animal-shaped buns made for Qingming Festival

Li Zhenping, a 43-year-old woman, shapes dough into various animals in a Hohhot village on April 1. [Photo/Xinhua]

Various steamed buns in the shape of birds and animals were made by local residents in a village of Saihan district, Hohhot on April 1, a traditional way for people in Northwest China to celebrate the Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Day).

As traditions fade away, a few families still choose to steam buns in the shape of birds to celebrate Qingming Festival. The images include sparrows, magpies, rabbits, tigers, and peacocks, and when put on tree branches they indicate the coming spring.

Women add food dye onto steamed buns in a family home in Hohhot on April 1. [Photo/Xinhua]

Locals attach bird-shaped buns to branches at a garden in Hohhot on April 1. [Photo/Xinhua]