Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 CE)
traditional crafts
National Heritage
Southwest China
active
Sugar painting (tanghua) is a Chinese folk art where melted sugar is poured onto a flat surface to create edible two-dimensional artworks. The artist heats white or brown sugar in a small copper pot, then uses a ladle to drizzle the liquid sugar in continuous lines onto a marble slab, forming animals, birds, and mythical creatures. A bamboo stick is pressed onto the sugar before it hardens, creating a lollipop-like treat. The art requires speed, precision, and creativity.
Related Places
Related Festivals
Relationship Constellation
This heritage item connects to 4 entities across the atlas — masters, places, festivals, and stories.
Continue the Journey
Explore more heritage items across the atlas.
Dough Figurine Art
Colorful figures sculpted from rice dough in minutes — a vanishing temple fair tradition of miniature folk art.
Shadow Puppet Carving Craft
The meticulous craft of carving leather into articulated shadow puppets — each character is a miniature sculpture requiring days of knife work.