The ‘sweet story’ of Neijiang is deeply rooted in a thousand-year-old sugar-making tradition and a vibrant intangible cultural heritage. Recently, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Workshop at the Neijiang Sugar Industry Museum has been given a fresh new look, infusing traditional sugar art with youthful energy. Each piece is a delightful blend of visual appeal and sweet flavor.

Sugar Art Piece

Inspired by the local black pig, a charming sugar sculpture captures the animal's playful spirit using traditional dough sculpting techniques passed down through generations. The glossy, finely textured sugar figure brings the Neijiang black pig to life, complete with big round eyes and a pink snout — an adorable tribute to a local breed.

Sugar Art Piece

This elegant sugar ornament takes the form of the white snakehead fish, a prized local aquatic species. Using melted sucrose, the artisan precisely controls the temperature and pressure to shape the fish's smooth, flowing body in one continuous motion. The clear sugar body mirrors the fish's natural translucence, while the delicate sugar splashes add a sense of lightness and movement.

Sugar Art Piece

A small mound of golden sugar is dusted with fine powdered sugar and crowned with emerald-green sugar decorations, as if capturing the vibrant energy of spring within a sweet treat.

The heart of the workshop lies in making heritage tangible and skills accessible. Visitors can learn from inheritors of traditional sugar art through hands-on sessions on sugar painting and sugar blowing. Every pinch and twist reveals the artisan's refined skill, while each stroke and swirl embodies the depth of traditional culture. Once visitors hold the sugar spoon in their own hands, intangible heritage is no longer a distant concept. It becomes a living cultural experience that brightens everyday life.