China News Service, Hangzhou, January 31 (Bao Mengni) "My neighbor's aunt gave me a big pumpkin. I couldn't carry it, so I carried it back on my back with a bamboo pole hanging a red lantern. The rice cooked by it is sweet!" 1 On March 31, the "Looking for the Taste of Childhood in the Countryside" event was held in Dingshanhe Village, Tangqi Town, Linping District, Hangzhou. Six-year-old He Yifan and his companions carried baskets and lanterns and went door-to-door to "beg" for glutinous rice, candied fruits, and nuts. , pumpkin and other ingredients to prepare for making red pumpkin glutinous rice.
Children carry lanterns and baskets to look for ingredients for Baijia rice. Photo by Bao Mengni
Children pour glutinous rice, red dates and other ingredients for Baijia rice into the pot. Photo by Bao Mengni
In Tangqi, this is also known as "Baijiafan". Local elders often say, "Children who eat hundreds of meals will grow up to be healthy and able to travel around the world."
Walking into the Laodao Baijiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Workshop where the event was held, you can see the sauce chicken, sauce duck, and pickled pig heads under the eaves. Agricultural products endowed with auspicious meanings such as radish, orange, arrowhead, water chestnut, and lotus root are neatly stacked on the table. Tangqi’s “earthy snacks” such as loquat stems, pepper peach slices, and golden candies have made many parents regain their “childhood memories.”
Sauce products under the roof of the Lao Dao Baijian Intangible Cultural Heritage Workshop. Photo by Bao Mengni
Ingredients with auspicious meanings. Photo by Bao Mengni
Traditional Tangqi cakes. Photo by Bao Mengni
It is understood that there is a local saying, "If you don't bring sesame candy during the Chinese New Year, you can't go to the hall." In the past when material living standards were not high, "hozen buns" wrapped with sesame candy were "hard currency" for New Year greetings - they could be used to pay homage to elders or as gifts to younger ones. The owner who received the "hozen bun" was reluctant to eat it, so he gave it to others as a New Year gift. It is not until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month that parents allow their children to open the "hozen buns" that have been circulating around and taste the sweet sesame candy.
Wang Yunfei, a native of Tangqi, said that orange cakes and banana cakes have been her snacks since she was a child. Nowadays, traditional Tangqi pastries such as sesame candy and pepper peach slices have also become her daughter’s favorites.
Children experience making rice cakes. Photo by Bao Mengni
As the highlight of the day's activities, the steaming "making rice cakes" made many children eager to try it. "The gavel is too heavy. If I can hit rice cakes by myself, it will be a great sense of accomplishment!" Zhang Yifan, an 11-year-old boy who tried to lift the gavel several times, said frankly.
"We want to use this method to let the children understand how their grandparents celebrated the New Year when they were young, so that they can feel the strong flavor of the rural New Year." said Shen Jianbiao, founder of the Lao Dao Baijian Intangible Cultural Heritage Workshop, who is the organizer of the event. (over)