Dumplings

饺子

The humble dumpling has been elevated to art form in China.

不起眼的饺子在中国已经被提升到艺术境界了。

Nowhere can you find a diversity and sophistication that matches China's exhaustive list of dumpling variations.

中国饺子变化无穷，再找不到其他东西能与之多样性和复杂性相匹配。

Sure, many cuisines boast a savory or sweet dumpling, maybe even a fried dumpling, but China's got dumplings with transparent wrappers (the classic dim sum, har gow), dumplings in a mouth-numbing sauce (Sichuan's signature longchaoshou), dumplings that burst with soup at first bite (xiaolongbao), dumplings made with fish meat dough (Chiu Chow-style) ... let's just stop there or we'll be here all day.

当然，饺子的烹饪方法有很多，有甜的、咸的，还有煎炸的，但中国的饺子还有透明包装的经典点心、虾饺，口感略麻的四川龙抄手，灌汤的小笼包，用鱼肉面团做成的潮州式饺……种类繁多，单单列举的话我们就得用上一整天。

The dumpling is also a marker of auspicious things in China: families gather during New Year celebrations to wrap and eat dumplings together in the hope of prosperous times ahead.

饺子在中国也是吉祥的标志：全家在新年时团聚，一起包饺子，吃饺子，盼望来年的生活蒸蒸日上。