Locals cool steamed bread on the street in Yudong ancient town. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

Yudong ancient town in Haimen district, Nantong is ramping up festivities as the Chinese New Year approaches.

Locals are busy decorating their homes with red lanterns and spring couplets and making traditional foods such as niangao, a New Year cake made of glutinous rice.

The town is home to an old street stretching more than 800 meters. It is one of the best-preserved flagstone pavements in Nantong, with buildings from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties standing on both sides.

For locals, celebrations usually start with drying various meats, mainly sausage and fish. Red sausage and fish are hung on the street, with their tasty aroma filling the air.

Steaming bread is also a popular activity for people at all ages. Ordinary dough is formed into a variety of shapes and then steamed and dried in the air to be preserved.

Another essential food is hongyingao, or red-seal cake. In Chinese, "gao" is a homonym of high, and red symbolizes good luck. Due to the complicated procedures, locals usually start preparing to make the cake about two weeks before the New Year.