Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 10, 2016 Title: "Cai Zhi Zhai" and "Daoxiang Village": Sustenance of Nostalgia and Long-lasting Sentiment with Original Taste
Xinhua News Agency reporters Liu Weiwei, Gao Jianjun and Chen Xu
"When I was a child, pine nut candy was the hope given by the big brother next door; on the back of the bag, pine nut candy is the hometown that can't be put down..." The Spring Festival is approaching, and the old man Chen Xiuzhen, who came to Suzhou Caizhi Zhaiguanqian main store to buy New Year goods, issued a "poetic" sigh.
Chen Xiuzhen, 66 years old, is a native of Suzhou and left her hometown when she was young. "In the days of wandering, every year ago, I always had to find a way to ask people to bring back the small snacks of Cai Zhi Zhai to eat a few bites, and I felt that this was the New Year."
The old man's words expressed the feelings of the Suzhou people. Cai Zhi Zhai was founded in the 9th year of Qing Tongzhi (1870 AD), specializing in Su-style candy. Over the past 148 years, generations of Caizhizhai people have passed on their handicraft skills, carried forward traditional festival culture, and pinned on the nostalgia of Suzhou people and comforted the nostalgia of wanderers in time.
In guanqian Street, where tourists flock to the street, the three big characters of the ancient and clumsy "CaiZhi Zhai" have a special sense of history. In the classical garden-style store, the salesmen dressed in big red Tang costumes are busy, and the counter is crowded with customers who come to buy New Year goods.
"Egg yolk peanuts, butter fructose, black sesame slices, pumpkin seed crisp, peanut crisp, peanut purple potato crisp..." Hong Kong tourist Yip Wai Man bought one bag after another, he said: "It is a traditional cultural experience." ”
CaiZhizhai thrived on traditional craftsmanship, and to this day, tradition cannot be forgotten. Establish a leading group for Su-style confectionery skills, allocate special funds for the restoration and excavation of intangible cultural heritage skills, research and development, so that inheritors can enjoy special treatment, and establish a teaching model for inheritors... CaiZhizhai uses a series of measures to bring the century-old process back to life and form a set of effective mechanisms.
In order to bring traditional skills closer to modern life, Cai ZhiZhai has set up a 30-square-meter "transparent workshop" in the store to boil sugar, cool, form, cut... Customers can see the whole process of making pine nut rice dumpling candy and so on. Zhu Hongxing, the director of the Caizhizhai workshop, is the fourth generation of inheritors, 58 years old this year, and entered the Caizhizhai in 1979 to learn art. "The most important thing to control the heat is to boil the sugar, after boiling to taste it, use your teeth to bite the hardness, one ring, two rings or three rings, the sound is in place, the boiling system is in place, I am now full of tooth decay." 」 Master Zhu laughed and said, "No way, this is an occupational disease." ”
"To display the Su-style candy skills of the treasure of the town store, so that children can feel and understand, this is a better inheritance and development of the tradition, and 'call' for the long-established Caizhi Zhai." A woman named Yang Yao used her mobile phone to record videos while personally explaining to her daughter.
The reporter understands that Caizhizhai also held the "Su-style New Year Goods Festival" for the first time this year, introduced a modern marketing model, launched more than 300 varieties of Special New Year goods such as Su-style candy, pastries, fried goods, preserves, etc., and best-selling gift boxes such as "Blossoming Riches" and "Family Portraits", and set up a special fund for the promotion of 1 million yuan, with sales volume increasing by more than 10 times than usual.
"Collect all things Ganoderma lucidum, dissolve the treasures of a hundred years." Chu Minhui, chairman of Suzhou Caizhizhai Food Co., Ltd., said, "All the efforts we have made are to form a national cultural memory through the snacks of Caizhizhai. ”
Founded in 1895, Beijing Daoxiang Village is the first to produce and operate Southern flavor food in Beijing, and is deeply loved by Beijingers and tourists from all over the world. Over the years, the people of Daoxiang village in Beijing have been committed to extending traditional memories and preserving original flavors.
Cheng Wenhua, deputy general manager of Beijing Daoxiangcun Food Co., Ltd., introduced that Beijing Daoxiangcun has successfully restored a variety of traditional foods that once disappeared, such as "Beijing Eight Pieces", "Zhuangyuan Cake", "Qiaoguo", "Chongyang Flower Cake" and "Five Poison Cakes", and at the same time integrated traditional food culture into important aspects of production and sales. According to China's traditional food culture, which pays attention to "four hours" and "five flavors", Beijing Daoxiangcun has also launched products corresponding to 24 solar terms, such as "Lichun Bite Spring Roll", "Lixia Tangerine Peel Cake", "Liqiu Elbow", "Big Cold Cold Cake", etc.
Liu Guodong, 58, is a native of Beijing, and Daoxiangcun's dim sum is the best memory of his youth.
"In the seventies and eighties, it was a luxury product, although it was only two dollars a box, but at that time the income was low, and it was usually difficult to eat; now it is still that taste, but the product is a lot richer." Liu Guodong said.
Nowadays, in landmark places such as Qianmen Avenue, Houhai, Xidan, Beijing Railway Station, Beijing West Railway Station, and even The T3 Terminal of Capital Airport, you can see the specialty stores in Beijing Daoxiangcun.
The reporter saw in the Xidan store in Daoxiang Village that the customers were crowded, and most of them were tourists from other places.
"This is a famous specialty in Beijing, buy it back for everyone to taste." Ms. Zhang, a tourist from Harbin who carries two large boxes of Beijing eight pieces in her hand, said.
Cheng Wenhua introduced that the "Eight Pieces of Beijing" originated from the imperial dining room of the palace, which is a pastry of eight shapes and different tastes, and is a New Year food with great Beijing characteristics. At the same time, "eight pieces" is also taken from auspicious numbers, Bo New Year color head, "Beijing eight pieces" color head is not only in the number, but also Fuzi cake, Lu character cake, Shou character cake, Xizi cake and other auspicious words related to the New Year, therefore, "Beijing eight pieces" after the successful resumption of listing, especially favored by customers. (End)