Tanghulu

Bingtanghulu （Candied Haw on a Stick） is a traditional Chinese snack that originated in the Southern Song Dynasty，which is a common snack in winter in the north. Bingtanghulu is usually made of hawthorn. When the sugar dilution meets the wind and freezes hard, it turns into iced sugar gourd. It tastes sour and sweet, and is also very icy.

Hawthorn has many medicinal properties, it can disperse bruises, stop dysentery, especially to help digestion. Besides, it can also lower blood lipids and serum cholesterol. Therefore, Bingtanghulu has the effect of appetizing, nourishing, increasing intelligence, eliminating fatigue. Bingtanghulu can be found everywhere in the streets of Beijing, and with a variety of additions and flavors to choose from. In addition to the traditional ones, there are also strawberry Bingtanghulu, banana Bingtanghulu, orange Bingtanghulu, and honey date Bingtanghulu, depending on the raw materials used to make them.

The earliest Bingtanghulu shops are "Furenquan", "Jiulongzhai", "Xinyuanzhai" and "Quanfu De", which are several time-honored stores that sell candied fruit. You can buy them from these stores or buy a few bunches from the stalls along the street for a few RMB.