Village in N China's Shanxi pursues prosperity through Zongzi industry

Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves, has brought wealth to villagers in Qianqingtang village, Anye township, Linxian county, north China's Shanxi Province.

Zongzi is a food for the traditional Dragon Boat Festival in China. In a live-streaming session during this year's Dragon Boat Festival, more than 20,000 orders for Zongzi made in Qianqingtang village were placed in just eight minutes, achieving 1.3 million yuan ($179,298) in sales.

Workers make Zongzi in an industrial park in Qianqingtang village, Linxian county, north China's Shanxi Province. (Photo/Lu Pengyu)

In recent years, Qianqingtang village has scaled up the production of Zongzi, rolled out a richer variety of Zongzi products, and utilized e-commerce to boost the sales of Zongzi.

"Reed fields span over 400 mu (26.67 hectares) in our village, producing high-quality reed leaves that can be used for wrapping Zongzi," said Zhang Xinqin, head of a Zongzi industrial park in the village.

At first, local people made Zongzi at home-based workshops, and later factories were built to expand the industry.

57-year-old Liu Jinmei is a worker at a local Zongzi factory. She can make more than 1,200 Zongzi a day and earn over 300 yuan from her work.

"We conduct skills training every year. Seventy percent of the villagers in Qianqingtang are involved in the Zongzi industry," said Cao Shuanglong, Party chief of Anye township.

The Zongzi industry has injected impetus to the tourism industry in Qianqingtang village. In 2022, the collective income of the village exceeded 1 million yuan.