Recollecting the Spring Festivals we have spent, we would unsurprisingly associate the festival atmosphere with special items. For people living in Yubei, especially the older generations, there is a list of intangible cultural heritage being their exclusive memory for this joyous festival. So, let's take a look!

　The Yu's Brown Sugar in Longxing Ancient Town

　　The Yu's brown sugar in Longxing Ancient Town originated from the brown sugar workshop founded in 1904 by Yu Shunfu, the originator of the Yu's brown sugar in Chongqing. The five generations of inheritors have been keeping the ancestor's original intention in mind and carrying forward the traditional skills to ceaselessly contribute hand-made brown sugar to consumers since its establishment.

　　The Yu's brown sugar is distinct attributing to its delicate and soft taste, meltable property, rich nutriments, and other characteristics. Being effective in replenishing qi and nourishing blood, invigorating the spleen and warming the stomach, promoting blood circulation to remove blood stasis, regulating menstruation, and eliminating tobacco and alcohol toxins, brown sugar is ideal for the parturient, the feeble and sick, and the ones deficient in qi and blood by melting in warm water. In addition, brown sugar is a culinary ingredient.

   Steamed Glutinous Rice Dried in the Shade of the Ancient Ba State

     As the name implies, it is steamed glutinous rice dried in the shade, which is a traditional ingredient popular among the folk. Making this kind of rice imposes high requirements on the skills and environment: exposure to the sunshine is inadvisable, dried in the shade instead; the plum rain season is unsuitable due to the high air humidity, which makes the rice vulnerable to mildew.

      Multiple cooking methods such as simmering, steaming, boiling, and frying can be well applied to the rice. Moreover, it can be subtly matched with different seasonal food like the mung bean, egg, chicken, and pork tripe to stew, adding red jujube, Dangshen, scented Solomon's seal, and other ingredients. Appreciating every last bite of the rice would trigger the gourmet's praise for the tasteful life.

    Steamed Glutinous Rice Dried in the Shade of Longxing Ancient Town

      Originating from Longxing Ancient Town in Yubei District, Chongqing, the rice is a traditional local delicacy. With high-quality glutinous rice as the raw material, it is soaked, stewed, dried in the shade, and served to gourmets. The cooking method, stewing, effectively retains the nutrient content of the rice. The rice has various functions such as nourishing the kidney, moistening the lung and invigorating the spleen, replenishing qi, clearing the gallbladder and nourishing the stomach, and maintaining beauty and health to be played.

      The rice has been preferred by numerous people since it enjoys abundant nutrient substances of rice dried in the shade, such as protein, fat, sugar, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin B1 & B2, nicotinic acid, and starch, as well as retains the functions of glutinous rice. Even better, it is more absorbable than glutinous rice in addition to the effect of maintaining health. It is desired for all age groups. Among the people, matching it with the pork tripe to make porridge is popular, which is beneficial for the viscera. The pork tripe, also known as the pig's stomach, is an ideal ingredient for nourishing the body. It is believed effective in treating coldness in the stomach, heart, and abdomen. Moreover, as it is dried in the shade, it can be preserved for a long time for enjoyment in all seasons.

    Bacon of the Baiyan Mountain

       The bacon of the Baiyan Mountain has been served on the table for thousands of years. Bacon is a specialty of Chongqing, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, and other central and western regions. The Baiyan Mountain situates at the southern end of the Mingyue Mountains, one of the three longitudinal mountains in Chongqing. The fellow villagers have carried forward their industriousness from generation to generation, cultivating a wide stretch of grainfields and raising a large number of pigs. Thus, the bacon of the Baiyan Mountain finds a sufficient and superior supply of the raw material. The bacon smoking on the mountain is advantageous due to the countless branches of cypresses as the firewood and the abundant condiments including the Sichuan pepper and pungent litse fruit, which support the tradition of bacon smoking in the Baiyan Mountain.

       As a perfect combination of the handed-down formula, the hand-made meticulosity, and strict monitoring throughout the production process, the bacon of the Baiyan Mountain is an inheritance of the traditional curing techniques: selecting high-quality indigenous pork as the raw material, and seasoning with salt, Sichuan pepper, and aniseed. A superb piece of bacon of the Baiyan Mountain is a byword for "wholeheartedness in all links". The bacon of the Baiyan Mountain is a vehicle for nostalgia, and for the permanent solicitude between the loved ones.

    Yubei Paper-cutting

        Yubei paper-cutting originated from regions near Shuangfengqiao Sub-district, Yubei District. Its founder inherited the skills from the grandmother and absorbed the techniques of other craftsmen across Chongqing to finally develop Yubei paper-cutting with a history of over one hundred years. Generations of inheritors adhere to replicating the patterns by fuming with a kerosene lamp, clipping the continuous patterns with a knife and a pair of scissors, and using the traditional handmade Xuan paper, wax, and plant ash. It is a purely handmade artifact.

       It should go through more than a dozen of procedures to complete a piece of paper-cutting, including design, patterns drafting, revision, final draft, paper selection, dyeing, clipping, and mounting. As Yubei paper-cutting originated from the folk, it carries the local conditions and customs and vicissitudes, as well as mirrors the local culture and the most real scenes of life. Meanwhile, it is a true portrayal of the changes in people's life and aesthetic consciousness today, which is of great historical significance and aesthetic value.

     The Li's Sugar Painting in Longxing Ancient Town

        Originated in Longxing Ancient Town, the Li's sugar painting enjoys a history of over a century.

         The two key skills for making a sugar painting are painting the pattern with sugar and blowing a sugar figure. Apart from the lifelike patterns of high ornamental value, the Lu's sugar painting is edible with a crispy taste. It requires uninterrupted and unique craftsmanship. For tourists coming to Longxing Ancient Town, the Li's sugar painting is irresistible, diverting, and unforgettable.

      Longjin Dried Bean Curd in Longxing Ancient Town

          Over one hundred years ago, the first cube of Longjin dried bean curd was made in the old street of Longxing Ancient Town, Yubei District. The Huang's adheres to the handed-down recipe for purely handmade dried bean curds, which are refreshing with a special flavor and lingering aftertaste. Gourmets can also enjoy different flavors such as five spices and spicy.

           Inheritance of the traditional skills has never been interrupted between the generations of inheritors, and the current inheritor has further made innovations. Visitors to Longxing Ancient Town usually bring this specialty home to share with their families and friends.

       Yubei Laojiao Liquor

            The brewing technique of Yubei Laojiao Liquor is for brewing traditional strong-flavor liquor. It was founded in 1919, and during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Yubei Laojiao Liquor was famous throughout the country, and was listed as one of the "Chinese Wine". In the 1960s, Yubei Laojiao Liquor became the first local liquor-making brand in Chongqing, and now it represents a high level of Chongqing's traditional brewing technique.

           Yubei Laojiao Liquor is devoted to carrying forward the traditional brewing technique. The sweet spring water, the hundred-year activated pit mud, and the traditional skills for brewing strong-flavor liquor collide to forge the aromatic, mellow, palatable vintage liquor with a lingering aftertaste.