Life in China 2016: A Picture A Day, October 30 – We eat much more pumpkin in China than I ever did in the USA, but, they don’t look anything like Jack-o-lantern type pumpkins, they look more like a butternut squash, only they taste much sweeter! I haven’t been able to find out what they actually are because all pumpkins in China are simply called “nan guo,” which means “south melon,” as they were supposedly first introduced from south Asia. I bake them, and do everything from eating them plain, or making soup, to using them in muffins and cookies. I also LOVE to put sloppy joes over the mashed pumpkin! In south China, pumpkin is quite popular and you can often order baked pumpkin, or a sweetened pumpkin pancake, made with rice, in Chinese restaurants. If anyone knows what type of squash or pumpkin these are, I’d love to know!