During Chinese New Year, families eat dumplings shaped like ancient gold ingots to symbolize attracting wealth and prosperity.

The tradition of eating dumplings during the Lunar New Year dates back over 1,800 years to the Eastern Han Dynasty. The practice was popularized by Zhang Zhongjing, a renowned practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, who originally created them to treat frostbitten ears. Over centuries, this culinary creation evolved into a powerful symbolic ritual celebrating prosperity and family unity.The distinctive dumpling shape is modeled after the sycee, also called 'yuanbao'—boat-shaped ingots of gold and silver that served as currency from the Qin Dynasty until the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. Because dumplings visually resemble these precious metal bars, eating them is believed to bring wealth and fortune into the home for the coming year.The preparation of jiaozi carries deep linguistic symbolism. The name 'jiaozi' sounds similar to the Chinese words for 'exchange' and 'midnight hour,' marking the transition between the old year and the new. By wrapping the filling in dough, families symbolically seal their good fortune and prevent it from escaping.Archaeological evidence from the Turpan Basin in Xinjiang has uncovered preserved dumplings dating to the Tang Dynasty, between 618 and 907 AD. This discovery confirms that jiaozi has been a staple of Chinese culture for over a millennium. Today, the tradition remains central to the Spring Festival, with millions of families gathering together to fold and eat dumplings, perpetuating this ancient custom.