TASTY TRADITION IS SWEET SUCCESS FOR CULTURE
Seen from afar, they are decorative polychromatic flowers, placed front and center at dining tables to feast the eyes.
Yet, these are different. After guests take their seats, they reach for them and start to dig in.
These flour and flowershaped buns, or huamo, can be traced back to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (16441911) dynasties.
Whenever celebrations or major events take place, people in Wenxi county, Shanxi province, bring out huamo to entertain guests.
The flour feat and treat has been known for its exquisite design and ingenious conception. It is closely related to local etiquette and customs, and widely used in festivals, weddings, birthdays, funerals, housewarming and many other occasions.
“I grew up watching my grandmother and mother knead the flower-shaped buns,” said Zhi Jiankang, an inheritor of the skill that was named a national intangible cultural heritage in 2008.
Over the years Wenxi huamo has evolved into four categories with more than 200 varieties.
“It takes a few people two days to make a large flower pattern,” Zhi said.
The dough is leavened on the first day and is kneaded into various shapes and sizes after a night of fermentation before being left to sit still for another night.
“When fermentation is completed, the buns are steamed and then colored with fruit and vegetable juice,” Zhi said.
For some major events, various bun flowers are then assembled.
Local families steam the flowery buns to celebrate births of children to wish them good health, and dragon or phoenix patterns are fashioned amid bun flowers during weddings to herald progeny.
Many Wenxi huamo works are ingeniously crafted by local women through kneading. In the vast rural areas of the county, women pass their skills to their daughters.
During Spring Festival in 2012, Wenxi held a huamo cultural festival. More than 300 villages from the county sent more than 2,000 pieces of huamo, some of which were named the biggest or tallest of their kind by the Hong Kongbased World Record Association.
After the festival, the county authorities supported
huamo cooperatives and the registration of huamo trademarks, giving further impetus for the development of the intangible culture.
“I felt the era of the Wenxi huamo had finally arrived,” said Zhang Haiyun, a local who has been deeply attracted to
huamo under the influence of her mother and grandmother.
In 2005, Zhang registered the Beiyuan Bun trademark.
Unlike traditional familybased huamo production, Zhang’s huamo products have been injected with fresh elements. In her shop, a lifelike replica of a bunch of colorful bright and golden roses is particularly eye-catching.
“This is our new design, very popular with young people, and sales have been especially brisk,” Zhang said.
There are two large huamo companies and 12 cooperatives in Wenxi, with more than 1,000 locals involved.
The annual output value has reached 10 million yuan ($1.38 million), local authorities say.