Taste the moon cakes in Fengzhen and appreciate the cultural customs

"Small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crispness and pulp in them." Come to a city, fall in love with a city, perhaps because of a story, a taste …

Fengzhen city, Wulanchabu City, Inner Mongolia, is located at the junction of the south-central Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region with Hebei Province and Shanxi Province. It is the foothold of many merchants from ancient times to the present, and is known as the "Business Inn of the Ancient Town beyond the Great Wall". The elegance, long history and culture of the ancient road station and the traditional skills of ancestors are gathered here, and have already been rubbed into a small moon cake by the industrious and simple Fengzhen people. As a symbolic representative of regional cuisine in Fengzhen, with a hundred years’ inheritance and development, Fengzhen moon cake is not only a kind of food, but also a cultural symbol, and a beautiful business card to retain homesickness and spread culture.

The moon cakes in Fengzhen originated from Longshengzhuang, an ancient town. Historically, Longshengzhuang was once an important pass on the three sides of the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty-Weiningkou. In the thirty-third year of Qianlong, the Qing government recruited people to reclaim land and build a village here, and named it Longsheng Village. The prototype of Fengzhen moon cake also appeared at this time. The high heat brought by the mixing of oil, sugar and flour can be stored for a long time in a cool and dry environment, making it a necessary dry food for travelers who travel long distances on the ancient tea-horse road to satisfy their hunger. In the early years of the Republic of China, Longshengzhuang became a well-known commercial town, and the name of Fengzhen moon cake was widely circulated in the northern region.

In people’s memory, the unforgettable old moon cakes are really attractive. The color is like brown sugar on the outside and goose egg yellow on the inside. It tastes soft, sweet and delicious. The freshly baked Fengzhen moon cake is well-defined, with a sharp front and a loose entrance. It is known as "flying hair and a sharp knife" and is soft, soft and sweet after storage. The method of making moon cakes in Fengzhen inherits the method of making northern Hu cakes. The raw materials are only flour, Hu oil, sugar and a small amount of alkaline noodles. Even in today’s industrialized development, local enterprises still insist on the original flavor of processed ingredients.

Corner of fengzhen city (Photo courtesy of fengzhen city Rong Media Center)

Inherited for a hundred years, the charm is undiminished. The taste of moon cakes in Fengzhen has surpassed the food itself and has become a unique memory of Fengzhen people. In 2009, the skills of making moon cakes in Fengzhen were included in the second batch of autonomous region-level intangible cultural heritage list; In 2015, "Fengzhen Mooncake" was awarded the national geographical indication certification trademark by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce; In 2017, Fengzhen Moon Cake was awarded the title of "Top Ten Snacks in China" by China Cuisine Association. Behind a series of honors, the struggle and innovation, sweat and dedication of generations of Fengzhen people are condensed.

Fengzhen Moon Cake in Production (Photo courtesy of fengzhen city Rong Media Center)

In recent years, Fengzhen Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have actively promoted the mooncake industry as a local industry to enrich the people. With the establishment of Fengzhen Moon Cake Association and Fengzhen Food Park, the development of moon cake industry has entered a fast lane. Fengzhen Moon Cake has really developed into a modern food industry chain integrating R&D, production and sales. The sales scope has covered Shanxi, Hebei, Beijing and other places except the central and western regions of Inner Mongolia, and the sales volume has increased year by year, with an annual output value of nearly 300 million yuan. Fengzhen Moon Cake has become one of the representative foods of the original Wulanchabu cuisine series.

Gourmet is a kind of culture, but also a way of life. Natural ingredients themselves convey the smell of fireworks in a unique way. The taste of moon cakes in Fengzhen is long-lasting, which makes wanderers in other places dream about it and diners from all directions linger. All the feelings on the taste buds should be like this! Taste the moon cakes in Fengzhen and appreciate the cultural customs. Often get together, slowly taste the fireworks, and watch the world for a long time. (Xuan Yan)