In Chinese, "fish" (鱼 Yú ) sounds like the word for "surplus." Because of this, fish is a popular Chinese New Year dish. Chinese culture values a surplus at the end of the year, because they think if they have managed to save something at the end of the year, then they can make more in the next year.

Dumplings are a classic lucky food for new year and a traditional dish eaten on Chinese New Year's Eve. Chinese dumplings can be made to look like Chinese silver ingots.

A traditional saying about dumplings is 招财进宝 (zhāo cái jìn bǎo), meaning "Bringing in wealth and treasure."

Spring rolls are traditionally eaten during the Spring Festival and are particularly popular in East China. Spring rolls can have a variety of different fillings, both savory and sweet. They symbolize wealth; a popular saying about them is 黄金万两, meaning "a ton of gold."

In Chinese, glutinous rice cake sounds like it means "getting higher year-on- by year" (年年高). To Chinese people, this symbolizes reaching new heights in their careers, education, etc. As such, it's a very popular food to eat in the new year.