Sales of porridge ingredients surge ahead of China's Laba Festival

Residents in Anyang City, central China's Henan Province have been flocking to shops to purchase ingredients for congee, a must-have meal for the upcoming traditional Laba Festival.

Celebrated on the eighth day of the 12th month on the lunar Chinese calendar, the festival is a time to partake in Laba Congee, a thick, dark-colored porridge made with beans and glutinous rice.

"With the Laba Festival approaching, I am here to buy some black beans and glutinous rice to make Laba Congee so we can enjoy the festive atmosphere," said a local resident surnamed Hou.

To meet demand, local supermarkets have prepared ready-made congee packs in addition to high-quality glutinous rice, red beans, green beans, and other ingredients for making Laba Congee from scratch.

"We put these items on the shelves a week ago, and we now have a wider variety available, including ready-made packs, others flavors including mixed nuts and purple sweet potato, lotus seed, and sweet white fungus," said Zhang Cuihong, a staff member at a local supermarket.

As the festival draws near, sales of the ingredients have increased significantly compared to previous years.

Sales of porridge ingredients surge ahead of China's Laba Festival

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The high-speed railway connecting east China's Hangzhou City of Zhejiang Province and Hong Kong was put into use on Sunday, cutting travel time between the two cities to below seven hours.   Departing from Hangzhou West Station at 15:10 BJT, the G99 train passes six stations before arriving at 21:56 BJT at West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong. Passengers only need to scan their Exit and Entry Permit at the station to finish cross-boundary inspection.   "It takes just over six hours to arrive in Hong Kong, which is not that long. I have my Hong Kong-Macao Entry-Exit Permit, and all I need is to scan it on the machine over the counter," said Jin Siyu, a traveler taking the first train.   To further facilitate travelers on the route, Hangzhou West Station now allows passengers to extend their Entry-Exit Permit with self-service machines.

"It takes around two to three minutes to finish (the extension) on this machine. But we can only provide extension services," said Chen Na, a staff member at the police station at Hangzhou West Station Hub, under the Yuhang District branch of Hangzhou City Public Security.

Railway connecting Hangzhou and Hong Kong begins operation