Discover yummy Chinese desserts! The Sweet Side of Language

Introduction: A Tasty Beginning

Picture this: you’re walking through a night market of Chinese desserts in Taipei. Lanterns glow above your head. The smell of warm pineapple cakes and crunchy peanut candy drifts through the air. A vendor hands you a shiny red hawthorn skewer — bingtang hulu (冰糖葫芦).

Chinese desserts aren’t just snacks. Each one carries a story about family, festivals, and history. And while you enjoy them, you can also learn Chinese!

Learning Chinese is becoming a smart move for kids worldwide. Programs like WuKong Chinese, founded in Silicon Valley in 2016, offer fun and engaging online courses for children aged 3–18, helping them build confidence in communication while exploring Chinese culture.

A Bite of History

Sweets in China go back thousands of years. Long ago, people used honey (蜜 mì) to make treats. By the Tang dynasty (over 1,000 years ago!), cooks were already frying sesame balls (煎堆 jiānduī) and shaping sugar into animals for parades.

Later dynasties brought more ideas — buttery pastries, red-bean fillings, and even fancy sugar flowers that looked too pretty to eat.

Desserts Around China

China is huge, and every place has its own favorite sweet:

• Guangdong (Canton): Cool down with mango sago pudding (芒果西米露 mángguǒ xīmǐlù) or silky egg custard.
• Beijing: Try the “Eight Pastries of Beijing” (京八件 Jīng bā jiàn) or crunchy sugar hawthorns on a stick.
• Yunnan: Bakers fold rose petals into soft flower cakes (鲜花饼 xiānhuā bǐng).
• Suzhou: Flaky Su-style cakes (苏式糕点 sūshì gāodiǎn) are light and buttery.
• Xinjiang: Nuts, raisins, and honey make chewy sweets in the northwest.
• Hong Kong: Egg tarts (蛋挞 dànhtà) have a crispy shell and soft yellow filling — perfect with tea.
• Shanghai: Sweet rice dumplings in wine soup (酒酿圆子 jiǔniàng yuánzi) are warm and comforting.
• Sichuan: Sweet rice jelly (冰粉 bīngfěn) is cool, wobbly, and topped with brown sugar syrup — great on hot days.
• Taiwan: Shaved ice mountains (刨冰 bàobīng) come with fruit, beans, or taro balls — fun to share!
• Hainan: Coconut jelly (椰子冻 yēzi dòng) tastes fresh and tropical.
• Guangxi: Sticky rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves (糍粑 cíbā) are chewy and sweet.
• Tibet: Sweet yak-milk curds with sugar and nuts are a high-altitude treat.

Say it in Mandarin: “我想试这个！(Wǒ xiǎng shì zhège!) – I want to try this one!”

Chinese Desserts for Special Days

Sweet treats make Chinese holidays even more fun:

• Mid-Autumn Festival: Mooncakes (月饼 yuèbǐng) are round like the moon — they mean family togetherness.
• Chinese New Year: Sticky rice cakes (年糕 niángāo) bring good luck for a “higher” year.
• Lantern Festival: Tangyuan (汤圆 tāngyuán) are soft rice balls in sweet soup, symbolizing happiness.
• Dragon Boat Festival: Zongzi (粽子 zòngzi) are sticky rice dumplings; some have sweet bean filling.

Try this sentence: “我们一起吃汤圆吧！(Wǒmen yìqǐ chī tāngyuán ba!) – Let’s eat tangyuan together!”

Chinese Desserts: More Than Sugar

Chinese desserts don’t just taste good — many are thought to be healthy!

• Green mung beans (绿豆 lǜdòu) cool you down in hot weather.
• Red beans (红豆 hóngdòu) are said to help your heart.
• Lotus seeds (莲子 liánzǐ) may calm you before bed.

Modern bakers even make low-sugar mooncakes and fruity puddings for healthier choices.

Fun idiom: 甜言蜜语 (tián yán mì yǔ) means “sweet words,” like a nice compliment!

Learn Some Sweet Words about desserts

Here are a few easy Mandarin words about desserts:

• 甜 (tián) – sweet
• 糕 (gāo) – cake
• 豆沙 (dòushā) – red bean paste
• 香 (xiāng) – fragrant/tasty

Try this:

“这个糕点香极了！(Zhège gāodiǎn xiāng jí le!) – This cake smells amazing!”

Make Your Own Chinese Dessert!

Want to try a simple Chinese recipe? Make Red Bean Soup (红豆沙 hóngdòu shā).

1. Soak 1 cup red beans overnight.
2. Boil with 6 cups water until soft.
3. Stir in sugar until sweet.
4. Add a splash of coconut milk or small rice balls if you like.

You can find beans and coconut milk at an Asian supermarket — or check out Wukong Education’s Culture Experience Box for dessert kits and fun language cards.

Quick FAQs for Curious Kids & Parents About Chinese Dessert

Q: What’s the most famous Chinese dessert? Mooncakes! But tangyuan, sesame balls, and egg tarts are also loved everywhere.

Q: Are Chinese desserts super sweet? Not really — most are gently sweet, often with beans, rice, or fruit.

Q: Can I make Chinese sweets if I’m new to cooking? Yes! Red bean soup or almond tofu are easy first recipes.

Conclusion: A Sweet Goodbye

Mooncakes, tangyuan, mango pudding — every Chinese dessert is a little piece of history you can taste. And when you say their names in Mandarin, you connect with the culture in a brand-new way.

Ready for more tasty adventures? Join Wukong Education’s culture classes and start your delicious learning journey today!

Mao Ying | WuKong Chinese Teacher

Master’s degree in International Chinese Education from Peking University. Dedicated to the field of Chinese language education, with 7 years of experience as an international Chinese language teacher.