Dumpling is a broad classification for a dish that consists of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources) wrapped around a filling or of dough with no filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, fruits, or sweets. Dumplings may be prepared using a variety of methods, including baking, boiling, frying, simmering, or steaming, and are found in many world cuisines.

A legend goes that dumplings were first invented in the era of the Three Kingdoms, around 225 AD. Zhuge Liang, a general and minister of Shu Han, dammed up a poison marsh on his southern campaign against the Nanman with dumplings instead of the heads that the Nanman used. However, this legend is more commonly associated with the “mantou”.

The jiǎozi is a common Chinese dumpling, which generally consists of minced meat and finely chopped vegetables wrapped into a piece of dough skin. The skin can be either thin and elastic or thicker. There is even a statement that the skin of jiǎozi determines the quality of jiǎozi. Popular meat fillings include ground meat (usually pork, but can instead be beef or chicken), shrimp, and even fish. Popular mixtures include pork with Chinese cabbage, pork with garlic chives, pork and shrimp with vegetables, pork with spring onion, garlic chives with scrambled eggs. Filling mixtures will vary depending on personal tastes, region and season. According to some region and harvest, seasonal ingredients can be included oyster.Jiaozi are usually boiled, steamed or fried and continue to be a traditional dish eaten, in which people will place a coin or candy inside the Jiaozi with the meanings of obtaining a fortune or having a sweet life, on Chinese New Year's Eve, the evening before Chinese New Year, and special family reunions. Particularly, in Northern China, people generally eat dumpling on the Winter Solstice (December 22 of each year), a custom signifying a warm winter. Extended family members may gather together to make dumplings, and it is also eaten for farewell to family members or friends. In Northern China, dumplings are commonly eaten with a dipping sauce made of vinegar and chili oil or paste, and occasionally with some soy sauce added in. However, baozi is not a type of jiaozi.