Hu Xin enlivens traditional rice cake in Lijiang

The rice cake, one of China’s traditional delicacies, carries rich historical and cultural significance, and it is a popular snack in Yongsheng county, northwest Yunnan’s Lijiang city.

Made primarily from rice through meticulous processes such as soaking, grinding, sifting, and steaming, it boasts a soft, glutinous, and sweet taste that is deeply cherished by foodies.

Hu Xin, inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of the Lijiang rice cake, still follows the traditional method in making the snack. Let us step into the steam-filled workshop and listen to a heartfelt monologue by Hu.

My name is Hu Xin, and I am the inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of the Lijiang Yongsheng rice cake. To me, rice cake is not just a craft but a warmth etched into my memory.

As a child, that small taste of sweetness was only available when my grandmother prepared feasts. As I grew up, rice cakes gradually disappeared from our lives.

When my wife Zhang Ling tasted the rice cake made by my grandmother for the first time in 2023, her eyes lit up, and she repeatedly praised the flavor.

At that time, we were also pondering: In an era where food safety is a growing concern, what can we preserve for the next generation?

Taking on this weighty heritage from my grandmother, we learned not only the mnemonic chants of soaking, grinding, and steaming but also an almost reverent respect for the ingredients.

At first, the rice cakes we made were either too dry or too hard. We failed again and again. However, the most challenging part was getting the water content just right—even the slightest deviation could lead to vastly different results.

But we never took shortcuts. We refused to use cheap ingredients or pre-mixed flour, insisting on ancient manual methods, because the essence of intangible cultural heritage lies in the craft refined day after day.

To breathe new life into this ancient cake, we infused it with modern aesthetics and cultural significance while keeping the intangible cultural heritage techniques.

The natural colors from fruits and vegetables and the elegant shapes of the molds represent our effort in innovation, but the unchanging softness and fragrance of rice still come from this beautiful land.

I hope that each piece of the rice cake allows you to savor the cultural dedication and deep affection we have poured into it.

Video making by Tang Meng, Li Xin, He Zhanwen and Ma Siyu (Lijiang Digital Media Center); Trans-editing by Wang Shixue