The qingtuan sold at Freshippo Supermarket (Photo by Li Hui/Xinhua Daily)

If you want to search the delicacies that best represent the flavor of spring, qingtuan, the green rice ball, is surely one of them.

Qingtuan is a traditional snack in the Jiangnan region. A bite of qingtuan is just like "a taste of spring". In its making, the juice of mugwort or wheat leaves is mixed into glutinous rice flour, and then added with lotus seed paste, red bean paste or sesame, among others.

Soft, sweet and fragrant, it has won the hearts of countless food lovers. The Lyuliuju Restaurant on the South Taiping Road of Nanjing could sell about 10,000 qingtuan each day, with monthly sales exceeding 2 million yuan.

The qingtuan sold at Nanjing Dapaidang Restaurant has got kite patterns on its outer packaging.