The Chinese name for spring pancakes, a precursor to spring rolls, is chun bing (春餅).
Chun bing are thin wheat-based pancakes traditionally associated with northern China and the solar term Lichun, or the beginning of spring. Diners wrap the pancakes around fresh seasonal vegetables, meat, and other fillings in a custom sometimes described as “biting the spring.”
The tradition reflects the arrival of fresh produce after winter, when preserved foods had been more important. Over time, filled spring pancakes were adapted in some regions by frying them, helping produce the crisp spring-roll form known as chun juan (春卷).
Chun bing should not be confused with shaobing, a baked or layered flatbread, or with baozi and jiaozi, which are filled buns and dumplings. Chun bing are primarily wrappers: their fillings and serving styles vary by region and occasion. They are also somewhat larger and softer than the thin pancakes commonly served with Peking duck.