Children make tanghulu, China's iconic crispy fruit snack, with their teacher at a kindergarten in Jiyuan City, central China's Henan Province, Dec. 18, 2025. People all over the country held diverse events on Thursday to mark the Winter Solstice, which will fall on Dec. 21 this year.

Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, denotes the beginning of deep winter and a break from farming in traditional agricultural society in Chinese culture. Northern China has maintained the tradition of eating dumplings on this day, while people in southern China eat tangyuan (glutinous rice balls). (Photo by Duan Erping/Xinhua)