Recently, staff at the Neijiang Tianyuan Sugarcane Village Exhibition Hall displayed a poster entitled 'Creating the "Ice Lion" as a Gift to Beijing' atop a glass display case containing tangerines, peonies and sugar rings; the poster vividly captures a heart-warming chapter in the history of the 'Sweet City's' sugar artistry.

Poster for "Creating the 'Ice Lion' as A Gift to Beijing"

Neijiang has long been renowned as the "Home of Calligraphy and Painting", and the town is dotted with numerous sugar workshops. The older generation of artisans have harnessed the highly malleable nature of rock sugar crystals, using sugar as their medium to skillfully carve ice flowers, ice lanterns, sugar sculptures and sugar paintings; ordinary lumps of rock sugar are transformed into countless vivid forms in the palm of their hands.

A master sugar sculptor from Neijiang devoted himself to crafting a rock sugar lion weighing over 700 jin. The lion, with its crystal-clear body and intricate patterns, was sent to Beijing as a special gift from the "City of Sweets" to mark the National Day celebrations. The stunning rock sugar lion garnered widespread acclaim from Beijing residents and friends from both home and abroad, bringing international renown to Neijiang's rock sugar carving craftsmanship.

A Corner of the Neijiang Tianyuan Sugarcane Village Exhibition Hall

Today, locals and visitors alike can still admire exquisite replicas of traditional sugar art exhibits at the Tianyuan Sugarcane Village. Piece by piece, rock sugar is skilfully carved by sugar art craftsmen from Neijiang, carrying on the sweet craftsmanship that has been passed down through generations in this "City of Sweetness".