When Qingming Festival approaches, it's an age-old tradition to eat qingtuan, or green rice balls, in China's Jiangnan area - the region south of the Yangtze River. The green delicacies, sometimes shaped like dumplings, are usually made from glutinous rice mixed with pounded mugwort - an edible wild herb thought to prevent toxic insect bites.

Recently qingtuan has been put on sale in time-honored brand shop Jiangnanchun in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, about 10 days earlier than previous years. Its authentic taste has attracted local customers.