Enjoy a cold bite for Cold Food Festival

Immediately prior to Qingming, there is another holiday called Hanshi Day, or Cold Food Festival, when fire and smoke are prohibited from being used in the kitchen and many local Beijingers prepare cold dishes instead.

The festival originated from a belief that fire is sacred and should not be used in the kitchen once a year to show respect to the God of Fire. According to Gao Wei, director of the Beijing Society of History and Geography, the day also came into being to get rid of bad luck since the ashes produced by a stove might create negative spirits. "What is more, people used this as an opportunity to change their diet from ordinary hot, greasy dishes to healthier, cold dishes, which is a good way to speed up the body's metabolism," Gao said.

Over time 13 cold dishes evolved. Highlights include jiang si pai char (fried ginger cake), wan dou huang (pea cake) and tang juan guo (glazed pancake with yam and date stuffing). "These dishes are mainly vegetarian and are simple to make," Gao explained. He gave the example of the fried ginger cake. "You mix the juice of the ginger with flour and then fry it," Gao said. "It should turn out crispy and infused with the rich taste of ginger."

According to Wang Shihua, an expert on traditional Beijing snacks, the recipes originated from the Hui ethnic group. "However, although these snacks are made by the Hui ethnic group, it is mainly Han people who eat the dishes at this time of year because the Hui ethnic group do not celebrate Tomb-sweeping Festival," she said.

Wang highlighted that while the origins of the day are removed from Tomb-sweeping Festival, the snacks still feature during this festival. "Historically people would prepare all these cold dishes a few days before Tomb-sweeping Festival and bring them to the tomb to present to their ancestors." Wang then pointed out that after this custom was completed, the foods would be transported back home and enjoyed, being seen as a gift from the ancestors for those alive to enjoy.

Where to sample the 13 cold dishes:

Hu Guo Si snack restaurant:

Address: 93 Huguosi Dajie, Xicheng district

Tel: 6618-1705

Price: 20 yuan per person

Wan Feng snack restaurant:

Address: 306 Wanfeng Lu, Fengtai district

Tel: 6488-6868

Price: 50 yuan per person