Swelled sugar rice sweetens the Spring Festival in Du'an

Grandma Wei 's great granddaughter enjoys some freshly baked Mihuatang, a popular snack among children. [Photo by Gao Dongfeng/xinhuanet.com.cn]

Mihuatang, or swelled sugar rice, is a traditional handmade delicacy made by locals of the Du'an Yao autonomous region in Hechi. The snack is typically enjoyed starting on the first day of the la yue (12th lunar month) until the end of the Spring Festival.

Making Mihuatang is an important annual ritual for 82-year-old Grandma Wei and her family in Anyang town. Every year her sons will buy the necessary ingredients while she, along with her daughters and grandchildren, make the tasty holiday snack.

Wei hopes to teach the skills to her daughters so that they can continue to pass down the age-old tradition.

Swelled sugar rice is primarily made of steamed sticky rice mixed with caramel, which is then baked before being fried with peanuts or sesame.