Written | Nandu Weekly reporter He Dayuan
What is the taste of a city? It is the fragrant bowl tea in the old tea house in Chengdu, the exquisite dim sum in the alleys of Xiguan in Guangzhou, the pork belly with thick oil and red sauce in the Shanghai lanes, and the fresh and beautiful sushi sashi sashi in the old alleys of Kyoto.
These unique tastes not only reflect the food of a city, but also represent the culture of a city. As an immigrant city, what is the taste of Shenzhen's city? When friends come to Shenzhen, what local snacks should they take with them to try? Every time I go back to my hometown, what kind of handwriting do I want to bring to my family? I believe it is the most troublesome problem for many Shenzhen people.
The "Shenzhen Speed" that amazes the world
In the past 40 years of reform and opening up, Shenzhen has made remarkable achievements, but at the same time, the lack of historical accumulation and culture has also become a lingering label for Shenzhen. In fact, from Nantou Ancient City to Dapeng City, Shenzhen has a history of thousands of years of founding; from shajing oysters to cloud cakes, Shenzhen has a unique local food culture.
Liao Honglei, a local folklore expert in Shenzhen who is too old today, still remembers the scene when he bought a piece of cloud cake with pocket money when he was a child, "before eating it, it is fragrant to the throat and sweet to the stomach." ”
The yunkata cake of the synthetic number has been a special snack in Shenzhen for 120 years, and its fifth-generation inheritor Chen Ganzhong said: "I hope that through the synthesis number, the city's taste memory can be retained and the historical context of Shenzhen will be renewed." ”
At the scene of the 2011 Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center Cultural Fair, foreign children attracted by rice cakes subverted the impression of Shenzhen and started from the taste of Shenzhen
Every time a friend from abroad said that he wanted to eat some local specialties, Zhao Xing would always make trouble. As a "deep second generation" who has lived in Shenzhen for more than 20 years, he does not know what special diets Shenzhen has, and will always half-joke, "There is nothing delicious in the small fishing village, take you to eat Shenzhen cuisine - coconut chicken!" ”
"What a joke, coconuts and Wenchang chicken are not from Shenzhen!" In the surprised eyes of his friends, Zhao Xing had to explain that coconut chicken was popular from Shenzhen.
And when the day his friend was leaving, he proposed to bring some Shenzhen souvenirs to his family, Zhao Xing was even more troubled. From Daoxiang Village in Beijing to Lianxianglou in Guangzhou, many cities have pastries and snacks that represent one city, but Shenzhen is difficult to find.
It was not until he went to the Shenzhen Museum and the Nantou Ancient City Museum that Zhao Xing found that Shenzhen was not lacking in historical accumulation and food culture, but was drowned in the rapidly developing economy.
Nantou Ancient City is the source of Shenzhen's urban development, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty was established as Dongguan County in the sixth year (331) of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, which was positioned by scholars as the "first county in eastern Guangdong, the source of Hong Kong and Macao". In the Ming Dynasty, the ancient city of Nantou became the seat of Xin'an County. An immersive video of the "Nantou Prosperous Picture" in the Nantou Ancient City Museum allows Zhao Xing to have an immersive glimpse of the prosperity of the ancient city 200 years ago.
Map of Xin'an County in the Qing Dynasty
"The land of Shenzhen has a history of more than 7,000 years of human activities, more than 1,600 years of urban history, and more than 300 years of immigration." Liao Honglei also said, "Shenzhen is not from a small fishing village, but has a rich and thick history and culture. ”
The oyster wall in the Nantou Ancient City Museum vividly records the prosperity of the manhole oyster. The cloud cake of the synthetic number in the Shenzhen Museum is a great gift from Shenzhen to the world's folk culture.
"Dapeng Baoshajing oyster, Shiyan persimmon Nanshan peach, Longgang chicken golden turtle orange, and Shenzhen cloud cake." This is a folk song among the aborigines of Shenzhen that has been circulating since the end of the Qing Dynasty. The folk song "Shenzhen Cloud Cake" is an important representative of Shenzhen's local culture and food customs, and its history has exceeded 100 years.
In 1901, the "Synthesis" was officially listed on the Shenzhen Market
According to the "Bao'an County Chronicle", in the 27th year of Guangxu (1901), the "Synthesis" business name was founded in Shenzhen Market, and the famous Shenzhen Cloud Cake was officially put into production. There are many characteristic foods in shenzhen's long history, but there are not many long-established brands that have formed brands, and the "synthetic number" is an important representative.
"Due to its proximity to Hong Kong, Shenzhen Cloud Cake was the first to import cream and white sugar from Hong Kong and Taiwan as an ingredient for Cloud Cake, combined with large grains of glutinous rice produced at the junction of local brackish and fresh water, to make it taste different." Chen Ganzhong, president of the Shenzhen Bao'an District Traditional Culture Association, told the Nandu Weekly reporter, "In 1911, the Guangzhou-Kowloon Railway connecting Guangdong and Hong Kong was opened, and most of the passengers from the south to the north used shenzhen cloud cake as a souvenir to bring to relatives and friends. Cloud cake began to be sold in large quantities to the mainland, and even to South America and Australia, becoming a link for overseas Chinese to maintain their hometown friendship. ”
Synthetic cloud cake, snow white in appearance, as thin as a piece of paper
In the 1950s, the cloud cake produced by the Synthesis was exported overseas, making a significant contribution to the country's foreign exchange earnings. Liao Honglei, honorary president of the Shenzhen Local Culture and Art Research Association, also grew up eating cloud cakes, and he still remembers the scene of passing by the Cake Factory in Shenzhen more than 60 years ago. "The smell of cake wafting out satisfies the enjoyment of smell." In Liao Honglei's view, the snacks of a place represent the culture of a place.
After liberation, due to the public-private partnership, the "synthetic" business name was no longer used. In the early 1980s, under the double impact of the retirement of old craftsmen and the influx of foreign candies into the market after the reform and opening up, local famous specialties such as Shenzhen cloud cake once disappeared from the market for decades.
In 2009, as the fifth generation inheritor of Synthetic, Chen Ganzhong resolutely resolved to restore the century-old brand and registered and established Shenzhen Synthetic Food Co., Ltd.
With the strong care and support of the governments of Shenzhen Municipality and Bao'an District, in 2015, the synthetic number "Shenzhen Cloud Cake Making Technique" was included in the provincial intangible cultural heritage protection project, and in 2017, the synthetic number was selected into the fifth batch of Guangdong Provincial Time-honored Brands List, becoming the first "Guangdong Time-honored Brand" in Shenzhen.
In 2019, the Centennial Synthesis number resumed business, showing the customs and customs of LaoBao'an and serving citizens and tourists
Chen Ganzhong used the modern health concept of less sugar and less oil to produce traditional snacks in Shenzhen such as cloud cake and chicken cake, which won market recognition and made the century-old shop of "Synthetic Number" shine again.
The Bao'an Four Treasures, represented by the "Synthesis Number", have been strongly recommended by the main leaders of the Bao'an District Committee. With the strong support of the successive district committees and district governments of Bao'an, the synthesis has ushered in new development opportunities.
At present, the product line of Synthetic is becoming more and more abundant: the famous Shenzhen cloud cake, wedding cake and other traditional cakes, Lao Bao'an local dumplings, Shenzhen Moon Tuan (local mooncakes), Gongming sausage, lychee wine, Cantonese New Year goods, etc., as well as 24 solar terms of food, these products have become Shenzhen's local characteristics of tourism gifts, of which the production formula of Water Dumpling and Wormwood Cake has won the national invention patent.
Synthetic Number Bao'an La Flavor Three Treasures: Gongming Sausage
Smell shenzhen, today, Shenzhen has become the hometown of more and more people. With a hundred years of time, the synthetic number has precipitated a strong "Shenzhen feeling" for each Shenzhen person, precipitated a unique taste, awakened the Shenzhen culture, and become the nostalgia of The Shenzhen people.
"40 years have brought us into modernization, but folk culture has gradually declined around us." Liao Honglei, born in 1946 under Yangtai Mountain, witnessed the transformation of Dongmen Pedestrian Street from an "old tucun girl" to a "fashion girl", but also witnessed the neglect of cultural accumulation by urbanization.
From Xiguan Yongqingfang in Liwan District to Chaozhou Ancient City, from Liuzhou snail powder to Shaxian snacks, In recent years, General Secretary Xi Jinping has visited ancient cities and local snacks many times when he visited various places, which has encouraged Liao Honglei and Chen Ganzhong, "Which sends a signal that it is to promote local culture, including food culture." ”
As early as 2003, Shenzhen implemented the strategy of "cultural city", and took the lead in blowing the clarion call of "cultural city" in the country. Food culture is an important part of Shenzhen's local culture.
Shenzhen's first local folk culture industrial park
"Many cities have one city and one taste, what is the taste of Shenzhen?" In addition to producing products, Chen Ganzhong devotes more energy to passing on the traditional pastry making skills of Shenzhen. He also established the Shenzhen Folk Culture Industrial Park and the Pastry Museum to attract the public, especially young students. In 2014, Chen Ganzhong persuaded his son, born in 1991, to learn the art of making cloud cakes, and put him in charge of the inheritance and protection of traditional pastries.
In Chen Ganzhong's view, the synthetic number is a symbol of Shenzhen's local culture, inheriting the taste of the city and spreading regional culture, which is the responsibility in this new era.
At present, Chen Ganzhong is applying for the "Shenzhen Cloud Cake Making Technique" to become a food trademark of Yuanjia Geography, and strives to be selected into the list of national intangible cultural heritage projects. With the attention of local culture from all walks of life, "I hope that through the synthesis number, the city's taste memory will be retained and the historical context of Shenzhen will be renewed." ”
In 2019, Shenzhen's first non-genetic study tour was held in the Shenzhen Folk Culture Industrial Park