The stirring of life

Spring is also a gourmet's delight. The taste of spring is like the freshly dug spring bamboo shoots-fragrant yet a little sweet. For the Chinese, especially those living in the Yangtze River Delta region, there is no spring without this essential ingredient. This delicious morsel adorns countless gastronomical delights: braised spring bamboo shoots, spring bamboo shoots and fish, boiled bamboo shoots with salt, braised bamboo shoots with red glutinous rice, fresh pork and salted pork with bamboo shoot soup, best known as Shanghai pot-au-feu.

The oriole chirps once or twice in the mild cold and half warmth of early spring. The blooming plum blossoms open and fall, fluttering in the wind like butterflies. People stand in the wilderness, stand on high platforms, stand in the forest, climb the top of the mountain, and feel the sun in the early spring.