A staff member prepares the materials for making Laba porridge at Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, on Jan. 8, 2011. Laba festival that falls on Jan. 11 this year, literally meaning the eighth day of the twelfth month on Chinese lunar calendar, is observed by drinking porridge cooked with fresh paddy rice, dried fruits and nuts. The Lingyin Temple will offer 360,000 bowls of porridge to local residents and tourists on the festival this year. [Xinhua]

A staff member makes Laba porridge at Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, on Jan. 8, 2011. Laba festival that falls on Jan. 11 this year, literally meaning the eighth day of the twelfth month on Chinese lunar calendar, is observed by drinking porridge cooked with fresh paddy rice, dried fruits and nuts. The Lingyin Temple will offer 360,000 bowls of porridge to local residents and tourists on the festival this year. [Xinhua]

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2010)