The technique of making Nan’ao sea urchin zongzi was listed as the district-level intangible cultural heritage in 2019. Later on, the Nan’ao sea urchin zongzi was listed as the city-level intangible cultural heritage in 2021.

There was an old saying in Nan’ao, stating that the locals cannot afford eggs but eat sea urchins for every meal. This was because the traffic was inconvenient on Dapeng Peninsula in the past, and the locals found it difficult to leave the peninsula to buy fresh eggs, but it was easy for them to catch sea urchins.

The diligent Nan’ao residents turned sea urchins into various delicacies, such as sea urchin zongzi.

The Nan’ao resident Zhang Zhangmei has become the fourth inheritor of the Nan’ao sea urchin zongzi.