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Liya Su

A woman in eastern China who discovered spring onions – a traditional blessing for newlyweds – hidden inside a duvet given to her as a wedding gift in 2010 has trended on mainland social media.
The woman, surnamed Zhao, from Anhui province, said she had no idea the spring onions were there as she had not unpacked the bedding after receiving more than 10 duvets as gifts, all of which she had put into storage.
But this month, due to the drop in temperatures in Chinashe brought out the extra duvets and discovered the onions hidden inside.
“Oh my god, the spring onions had been preserved well for all these years,” Zhao told btime.cn.

“All the spring onions were totally dried.”
Zhao described the discovery as a pleasant surprise. “I guessed my parents wished I would have an intelligent child,” she said.
The Mandarin word for “spring onion” sounds like the word for “smart”, and Chinese parents sometimes offer spring onions as a blessing in the hope that their grandchildren will be clever.
Traditional customs for blessing newlyweds in mainland China are varied; however, the placing of items inside bedding materials is common.


Popular offerings such as Chinese dates, peanuts, longans and lotus seeds, are given by Chinese parents hoping the newlyweds will have children as soon as possible.
A video of the woman’s surprise discovery has trended widely on mainland social media, with more than 18 million views and 3,300 comments on a Weibo news post about it at the time of writing.

One person wrote: “Sometimes our local customs are full of romanticism.”
Another, whose parents followed the same wedding custom, wrote: “Recently when my wife tidied up our bed, she found that our blanket was jammed with Chinese dates and chestnuts.”
“My mum stuffed it with coins for good fortune,” another wrote.


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Trending in China

‘Spring onions in my duvet’: shocked Chinese woman finds stash of blessing scallions in wedding gift quilt 12 years after nuptials

A woman in China trying to keep warm is surprised by onions stuffed inside a gift, with the discovery trending online. Photo: SCMP composite/handout

The onions as seen in a video posted online by Zhao after the discovery. Chinese parents also give dates, peanuts, longans and lotus seeds as blessing gifts. Photo: Weibo

While traditional wedding customs can vary widely across China, some — like giving spring onions, are near universal. Photo: Shutterstock

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Hong Kong actor Stephen Chow Sing-chi played a cha chaan teng waiter in the 1998 comedy, “The Lucky Guy”, and a local meal-delivery-boy in the 1999 hit, “King of Comedy”. Photo: SCMP Composite.

Mido Cafe in Kowloon, Hong Kong has retained its traditional facade. Photo: SCMP / Kylie Knott

Hong Kong’s Mido Cafe is one of the city’s best examples of a cha chaan teng, or local cafe. Photo: SCMP / Kylie Knott

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David Lai and his father, Fat, visit Mido Cafe, on December 10, 2022. “It’s beautiful,” he said. Photo: SCMP / Kylie Knott

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News

People & Culture


A woman in China discovers an offering of spring onions when unpacking a duvet given to her at her wedding
She had not unpacked the gift, a traditional blessing for smart kids, which had been in storage for 12 years



A woman in China trying to keep warm is surprised to find preserved spring onions inside a gift from more than a decade ago, with the discovery trending online.


Chinese culture

China society

‘Spring onions in my duvet’: shocked Chinese woman finds stash of blessing scallions in wedding gift quilt 12 years after nuptials

A woman in China discovers an offering of spring onions when unpacking a duvet given to her at her wedding She had not unpacked the gift, a traditional blessing for smart kids, which had been in storage for 12 years

A woman in China discovers an offering of spring onions when unpacking a duvet given to her at her wedding

She had not unpacked the gift, a traditional blessing for smart kids, which had been in storage for 12 years