In July, thousands of acres of lotus are blooming at Wild Duck Lake in Yaoguan town of Shidian county in Yunnan province, attracting tourists and providing families all over the country the ingredients for local specialties.

When cooking lotus, the leaves and stems can be used in dishes. But tender sprouts, stems and fully opened flowers are particularly prized.

Fried lotus is a special dish at a lotus banquet, allowing the sensations of crispy and sweet with only one bite.

But there's more where that came from. There is still steamed egg custard with sliced lotus leaf and stir-fry minced pork with chopped lotus stem.

Lotus ponds look their best at a lotus banquet.