Sugar painting

After that period, as techniques improved, Chinese folk artists combined the molded sugar with other arts, like shadow play and paper cutting, to create a more diverse range of patterns.

In Sichuan, during the Qing dynasty, further developments were made in production seeing the replacement of the molds with the now-common small ladle.

To inherit and develop this kind of art and food, the government listed it as Provincial Non-Material Culture Heritage.

[1] After the implementation of reform and re-opening policy, many famous sugar painting artists are invited to foreign countries, such as Japan and Spain to exhibit Chinese folk art.

[2] Although techniques vary, normally the hot sugar is drizzled from a small ladle onto a flat surface, usually white marble or metal.

Then, while still warm and pliable, the figure is removed from the surface using a spatula-like tool, and is sold to the waiting customer, or placed on display.

Once sugar is added, the machine is programmed to paint on a plane in a process similar to automatic engraving.

Because of the emperor's compliment, this form of art and food became popular quickly and developed as the sugar painting nowadays.

[1] Customers (especially children) usually select a figure by spinning the arrow on a wheel which will randomly land on popular objects.