Mahjong becomes the theme of Chengdu festival dessert

Festival dessert for Chinese Lantern Festival is made in the shape of Mahjong tiles in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. (Photo/West China City Newspaper)

Chengdu is a beautiful and peaceful city in China. You may have heard that it is famous for pandas, hotpot and beautiful ladies. But, in Chinese people's minds, Chengdu is also famous for Mahjong.

Chengdu people are so crazy about mahjong that they have their festive desserts in the shape of Mahjong tiles. The dessert, called tangyuan, is made of sticky rice flour stuffed with different fillings. Each serve of the desert sells six yuan (less than 1 US dollar) including three pieces of tangyuan in the shape of Mahjong tile.

Having tangyuan is an essential part of the Chinese Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb. 22, this year.