[Photo via VCG]

Sugar Figure Blowing is an old Beijing trading, one of the Chinese folk handicrafts with a history of more than 600 years. According to legend, its ancestor was Liu Bo Wen, the chancellor of the Ming Dynasty.

The craftsman uses a small spatula to take a little hot sugar, put it on his hands covered with talcum powder and rub it. Then use the mouth to hold up one end, after blowing bubbles, quickly placed in the wooden mold coated with talcum powder, and then blow hard. After a short while, open the wooden mold, the sugar man you want to blow is ready. Finally, stick the hot sugar on the sugar figure with one stick of the reed, and the work is done.

There are various shapes of candy men, such as deer, goldfish, rats, lanterns, etc. The most popular one among children is the monkey-shaped sugar figure. After the monkey-shaped candy man is done, knock a small hole in the monkey's back and pour in some sugar syrup. Then poke a small hole in the monkey's buttocks to let the syrup flow out slowly. A bowl made of rice is placed underneath, and a spoon made of rice is used to scoop the sugar from the bowl and eat it. When the sugar is finished or cooled and solidified, it is eaten together with the monkey-shaped sugar figure and the bowl and spoon made of rice.

In the early years, the sugar blowing craftsmen used to carry a stretcher to the market and the temple fair. Now, sugar Figure Blowing art has become an intangible cultural heritage. Whenever you look at the crystal-clear sugar figures, it will always evoke the dusty childhood memories.