Villagers sieve the glutinous rice flour to make sure it has the finest consistency and no lumps. [Photo/WeChat account: taicangdaily]

Writing spring couplets for good luck, pickling bacon to welcome Spring Festival and hosting a Hundred-Family Banquet to enhance relations between neighbors are the Spring Festival traditions in Taicang.

In Taicang's countryside, Huangqiao villagers of Shuangfeng town still maintain the tradition of making steamed rice cakes and sticky puddings together with several other families.

A few days before Spring Festival, close neighbors gather together in the early hours to prepare the food.

A villager is responsible for the heat critical for steamed rice cakes. [Photo/WeChat account: taicangdaily]

When making steamed rice cakes, one needs to devote particular care to techniques, heat and moisture.

The glutinous rice flour must be sieved over and over again to guarantee its fine consistency and that it has no lumps so that the steamed rice cakes made from it will have the best taste.

After the flour is prepared white sugar, brown sugar, lard oil or red beans are added to it; the mix is then poured into food steamers about five or six centimeter high.

A layer of glutinous rice flour is then sprinkled onto the flour in the food steamers until it becomes light yellow, and that process is then repeated five or six times.

Villagers from different families share the fruits of their labor with its exclusive festival flavor. [Photo/WeChat account: taicangdaily]

The sprinkling makes sure that water vapor permeates all layers of the flour to steam the cakes.

A white steam with a faint scent of the cakes pervades the air and tempts the children, who immediately become hungry once they sense it.

The glue puddings are stuffed with different fillings such as chopped meat, crushed sesame seeds and sweetened bean paste. Take one bite and its slight sticky taste lingers in your mouth for a long time, luring you into having more and more.