While walking in some of the back streets of Nanjing just days before the Duanwu Festival I came upon a woman preparing zongzi for sale. I have eaten the bamboo leaf-wrapped rice many times over the past two decades, but until then had never seen how they were made. I was fascinated by how the simple ingredients of rice and red beans were deftly filled and wrapped by her experienced hands. It took her about half a minute to make a single zongzi. She agreed to let me film her making some, so that I could record the method. I’m still getting used to shooting on my Nex-7 with the 50mm prime lens, so some parts are a little out of focus. I did manage, however, to catch the whole process.

Now, if I could just find some bamboo leaves and try this myself!