The Lantern Festival has been a traditional Chinese festival since ancient times. The custom of eating Yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball) during the Lantern Festival has a long history and has been passed down to this day. A bowl of warm and sweet Yuanxiao, resembling the full moon on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, symbolizes family reunion and good luck.

Here we came up with the list of those time-honored shops of Yuanxiao in Xi'an, and we hope you will spend a "sweet" Lantern Festival.

Xin Zhong Hua Dessert Shop

Established in 1937, Xin Zhong Hua Dessert Shop is renowned for its specialty in sweet treats.

Yuanxiao can be both deep-fried and boiled. Different cooking methods bring distinctive textures and flavors.

 Open hour：10：00 - 21：00

Yan Bin's Yuanxiao Shop

Each Spring Festival, the line for Yuanxiao here is ridiculously long. The shop usually serves flavors such as rose with the walnut kernel, black sesame, peanut, multi-kernel, and hawthorn with raisin.

If you dine in, we strongly suggest you try the fried ones. The fried Yuanxiao will be twice as big with a crispy shell. With the filling melting at high temperatures, you can taste the extreme sweetness, stickiness and softness.

 Open hour：08：00 - 22：00

Beishaomen Yuanxiao

This time-honored shop has always been popular, with crowds gathering at the serving booth every Lantern Festival.They only serve the Yuanxiao made on the day, and sugar-free ones are also provided.

Open hour：09：00 - 20：30

Deyixiang Yuanxiao (halal)

The shop not only serves the raw Yuanxiao, but also serves cooked ones. The stuffings include rose with brown sugar, black sesame, walnuts, hawthorn, and peanuts.The filling is quite generous, with the stickiness and sweetness lasting in your mouth.

Open hour：08：00 - 22：00

Liu Ming's Yuanxiao (halal)

This is also an old shop that has been open for more than a decade. The flavor is relatively light with moderate softness, which is friendly to the elders and children.

 Open hour：08：00 - 18：00

Xu's Dried Persimmon Yuanxiao

The shop has always been the main persimmon cake, but their Yuanxiao is also very good, especially the one with the hawthorn flavor. The sweet and sour taste well relieves the greasiness, and the thickness of the skin is just right. Other flavors like walnut and peanut are also available.

Open hour：08：00 - 21：00

Here are the steps for boiling Yuanxiao

1. After the water boils, put Yuanxiao into the pot gently. Use the spoon to stir the water, so that Yuanxiao will not stick to the pot.

2. As the water boils, add some cold water to the pot to stop the boiling, and use gentle heat instead.

3. When the water boils again and all the Yuanxiao float to the surface, it's done.

4. At this moment, you can add sugar to the water subject to your preference, and the sweet soup also tastes well.