As the Year of the Snake approaches, traditional pastries in Shanghai hold not only culinary appeal but also rich cultural significance.

Among Shanghai's food brands, the household name Shen Da Cheng has become a culinary emblem, renowned for its unique flavors and outstanding quality.

Founded in the first year of Emperor Guangxu (1871-1908) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Shen Da Cheng boasts a history of 150 years. The brand has earned numerous accolades, including Shanghai Famous Traditional Culinary Brand, Shanghai Famous Trademark, and China Time-Honored Brand. In 2024, the Shen Da Cheng pastry-making craft was listed as part of the seventh batch of Shanghai's Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Items.

Starting with its mastery of traditional pastry techniques, Shen Da Cheng specializes in products such as green rice balls (qingtuan), sticky rice cake bars (tiaotougao), and longevity peach buns (shoutao). Among these, tiaotougao is the most iconic — a long, slender rice cake bar with slightly firm edges and a pleasantly chewy texture.

Shen Da Cheng remains committed to pure handcrafting methods, adhering to the traditional practice of "made-to-order, freshly prepared, and freshly sold”. This combination of Intangible Cultural Heritage techniques with modern tastes ensures soft, fragrant, and delicately textured pastries.

Specifically, each pastry, with its sticky and sweet charm, goes through multiple meticulous steps, including ingredient selection, mixing, powder processing, shaping, and finishing — all infused with craftsmanship and tradition.

The first step of selecting and blending ingredients is also of utmost importance. Shen Da Cheng uses premium glutinous rice flour and rice flour as primary ingredients, pairing them with carefully chosen supporting ingredients. With its emphasis on refined ingredients and precise techniques, the recipes are adjusted seasonally to produce a wide variety of traditional pastries with rich flavors.

Furthermore, its pastry-making craft carries the history and evolution of Haipai or Shanghai-style culture, offering customers a taste of the city's unique, century-old flavors.

Today, Shen Da Cheng operates stores across all districts of Shanghai and distributes its products nationwide through online channels. Leveraging modern technology, the brand expands its market presence while actively promoting traditional culinary culture and artisanal craftsmanship.

The pastry-making craft has been passed down through five generations. Current inheritors Shen Guoxing and Shen Xiaolong, alongside a team of chefs, perform live demonstrations of pastry-making at the flagship store on Nanjing Road. This allows customers to experience, taste, and appreciate the unique charm of this Intangible Cultural Heritage item up close.

The inheritors of Shen Da Cheng maintain their century-old high standards while making significant efforts in innovation. They have introduced new products such as crayfish qingtuan and custard-filled qingtuan, which have been widely praised for meeting the increasingly diverse tastes of consumers.

Source: WeChat account of Shanghai Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Centre