It's been a routine for people in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, to pay a visit to the 1,700-year-old Lingyin Temple, near the West Lake, in the early morning on the eighth day of la yue — the last month of the Chinese calendar — and have a bowl of Laba porridge that includes a variety of healthy ingredients.

Eating the porridge is important on the to-do list of the Laba Festival, falling on the eighth day of the 12th month, an occasion celebrated nationwide for a good harvest and to accentuate the festive mood for Spring Festival.

Visitors to the Chinese Traditional Cultural Museum in Beijing on Jan 7, the Laba Festival this year, received such a special gift from Hangzhou and the Lingyin Temple — a bag of ingredients to prepare the same Laba porridge offered at the temple every year.

It was part of the activities associated with Guo Nian ("celebrating new year"), an exhibition running until March 2 that the museum has arranged to elevate the festive mood ahead of Chinese New Year.