Marvel's marketing wheels were turning in time for Thursday's start of the Dragon Boat festival.

Thanks to the American firm's tie up with Chinese dumpling maker Wu Fang Zhai, you can now buy Captain America, Ironman, Thor and Black Widow-themed rice dumplings for the festival, where the stodgy treats are an integral part of the celebrations.

Image: TMALL/TAOBAO

Image: tmall/taobao

Image: TMALL/TAOBAO

Image: TMALL/TAOBAO

Image: TMALL/TAOBAO

The dumplings are on sale across various retailers on Taobao, China's version of Amazon and eBay.

Most reviews of the dumplings appear positive, with commenters saying: "The packaging was attractive, but when I opened the box I was surprised that (the dumplings) were delicious."

Another commenter said: "I knew the men in my household would love the dumplings because of the packaging! If Iron Man says it's good, it's good."

The dumplings come in these boxes. Image: TMALL/TAOBAO

They also come in fancier shield-looking packages. Image: TMALL/TAOBAO

If superheroes don't float your boat, other retailers are carrying Kungfu Panda and Mickey Mouse dumplings.

The festival is also known as Duanwu Jie, and is a national holiday in China. It's also celebrated by Chinese communities across Asia in countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

The festival is marked by dragon boat races, with teams rowing long boats in time with a drummer keeping rhythm at the head of the vessel.

And at home, people celebrate by eating rice dumplings packed in triangular shapes and wrapped in bamboo leaves. The dumplings come in various flavours, some with meat in them and others with sweet bean fillings.

The story in folklore most commonly associated with the festival is the death of a Chinese minister and poet, Qu Yuan, who lived during 300 BC and was said to have flung himself into the river as a political protest. People were looking for him in the water, and beat drums loudly in boats to scare the fish away from eating his body, and threw rice dumplings in so the fish would be distracted.

[h/t Marketing Interactive]

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