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. [Photo/Xinhua]

A woman in Jiaokou village in Tianmushan township, Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, prepares qingtuan on March 27, 2019 to mark the upcoming Qingming Festival. [Photo/Xinhua]

Wild mugwort is pounded before being added to glutinous rice and molded into smooth, silky qingtuan cakes. [Photo/Xinhua]

Wild mugwort is made into wrappers for qingtuan in Tianmushan township, Hangzhou city in East China's Zhejiang province on March 27, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua] 

People make fillings for qingtuan in Tianmushan township, Hangzhou city in East China's Zhejiang province on March 27, 2019.The filling can be either sweet or salty, and can include things like red bean paste, meat and picked vegetables. [Photo/Xinhua]