The following ten foods and handicrafts of Shaoxing are disappearing. Have you tasted the foods and seen the handicrafts before?

Popcorn

In our childhood, we watched the uncle rotating the oven, cupping our ears with hands, standing to keep a safe distance from the oven, and looking forward to the fried popcorn. Even though everybody was prepared for the sound of “bang,” we still got shocked and jumped up.

Cream pastry Xiaopan

Wrapped in a golden outer skin, the pastry gives off the smell of cream into the air as you bite it. It was like tasting milk while eating the delicacy. It must be the best memory of childhood for many Shaoxingers.

Marshmallows

The marshmallows on the roadside were like magic to kids. As a bamboo stick keeps rotating, some food coloring was added. Different shapes, such as clouds and flowers, appeared. They looked so lovely that kids would hesitate to eat them.

Water chestnuts

Every autumn, peddlers carrying two baskets of water chestnuts would appear on the streets. They were fresh and crispy if eaten raw. They would appear as white as jade and snow if you cook them.

Hoopers

The chamber pots, water buckets and foot basins used as endowments in the past were all made of solid wood. Therefore, there used to be many hoopers. But today such things are no longer popular in dowries, and they are also rarely used at home in daily life.

Repairer of fountain pens

In the past, repairers of fountain pens were often seen at the school gate. Nowadays roller pens are prevailing, and fountain pens are used less, and we basically write with keyboards. Fountain pens are now used mainly for signing contracts and will be abandoned if broken.

Fluffing cotton

Fluffing cotton has been part of the memory of many people. In the past, people asked cotton fluffers to customize a quilt based on their requirements of weight. As cotton flew about in the sound of fluffing, piles of cotton were pressed into a neat quilt.

Repairer of shoes and umbrellas

They could repair all kinds of shoes such as overshoes, running shoes, and leather shoes, and could also repair umbrellas. Today you can only find a repairer of shoes and umbrellas at an old lane.

Repairer of pot

In the past, repairers of pot went from door to door, from street to street, singing leisurely “repair--pots--now” with their loud voice. Old grandmas would take out the broken pots and bowls to the repairer.

Grinding scissors

“Grinding scissors or kitchen knives...” At the time of noon nap, one could hear the drawling tone of an old voice. As the old man’s grinding wheel rotated round after round, the knives and scissors would become sharp again.