The last descendant had only one daughter, and she was very smart. Out of curiosity, she asked to learn the ball-making skills from her father. My father strictly abides by the rules of his ancestors and refuses to teach them. My daughter is not discouraged and often learns skills secretly by licking paper outside the window late at night. After the old craftsman passed away, the girl got married and started a new business, making iron balls. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, several households in Ganshiqiao, Baoding, were making iron balls. People not only used them as fitness equipment, but also as fresh gifts to honor their parents or give to relatives and friends. Baoding Iron Ball is famous far and wide. After the Lugou Bridge Incident broke out in 1937, the Japanese army captured Baoding, and the iron ball artists were forced to stop production due to circumstances. In 1955, Baoding's Machinery Iron Production Cooperative first resumed iron ball production. When the "Cultural Revolution" began in 1966, iron balls were regarded as the "four olds" and production was interrupted again. In October 1975, Shang Zhen, the former chairman of Hebei Province of the Kuomintang, returned from Japan to visit relatives and came to Baoding, hoping to get a pair of iron balls. Since there was no production unit at the time, the person in charge of the reception used various channels to find a pair of iron balls in the home of an old worker who had produced iron balls. After repairing and polishing them, they presented them to Shang Zhen, which attracted the attention of the local government. In 1979, Dingzhou began development and production. In 1981, Baoding Agricultural Tools Factory (later changed to Iron Ball Factory) also resumed the production of iron balls. The iron balls of the two factories were made of stainless steel and were named Lianchi Brand and Longevity Brand respectively. Externally known as a fitness ball. Clinical experiments have proven that playing with a fitness ball can dredge meridians, strengthen muscles and bones, and reconcile qi and blood. It can also prevent and treat chronic diseases such as numbness and trembling of hands, inflammation of finger and wrist tendons, hypertension, and hemiplegia. According to legend, Emperor Qianlong lived to be 88 years old, and the famous painter Qi Baishi lived to be 98 years old. Elderly people in Baoding can practice this way. The reason why they live a long life is due to their regular practice of fitness balls. Iron ball, also known as fitness ball, is a very popular sports equipment among Baoding people. Middle-aged and elderly people in Baoding especially like to play iron balls. They usually hold two iron balls in one hand to relax their muscles and strengthen their body. There was an old man in his 80s, holding eight iron balls in one hand and rolling them up and down, performing various tricks. In 1984, Baoding City established the Fitness Ball Association, specializing in the study of traditional fitness ball techniques. It has successively sorted out "double ball rotation", "multi-ball rotation", "air toss", "multi-person docking", "up and down rolling" and many other techniques. sports skills. In 1985, Baoding City held the first iron ball performance evaluation conference, and subsequently formed an iron ball technical performance team. He has been invited to Beijing and various parts of the country many times to provide performances and technical guidance, introducing the long-standing Baoding iron ball sport to senior citizens and foreigners from all over the country, and opening up a new way for the promotion and popularization of Baoding fitness ball sports. Baoding fitness balls are famous overseas and are exported to dozens of countries and regions such as the United States, Japan, Singapore, Poland, Australia, and the Philippines. Mr. Pillos, chairman of the American Trade Union and former mayor of Conde City, was recommended by others to exercise with a fitness ball for half an hour every day, and used audio and video recordings to promote the benefits of the fitness ball. In 1982, he personally went to Baoding and ordered 6,000 pairs of fitness balls. In April of the same year, American newspapers and magazines published photos and articles about the fitness ball. In June, Hong Kong's "Ta Kung Pao" published a news report on the fitness ball, titled "As big as a chicken egg and made of metal, the Baoding fitness ball benefits American patients." Hong Kong businessman Lui Gao-min started an exercise ball business in Hong Kong and promoted it to the world. On April 27, 1984, the national leader presented two pairs of fitness balls to US President Ronald Reagan and his wife in the banquet hall of the Great Hall of the People. President Reagan happily said that he must take time to practice this new sport. The second treasure: "noodle sauce"

The main pasta in the north - fried noodles "Baoding noodle sauce" mainly refers to sweet sauce, which is an indispensable ingredient in northern noodles. Condiments. When eating pancakes, pancakes, or home-made pancakes, they like to coat them with a layer of sweet sauce and wrap them in green onions. When eating fried noodles mixed with fried sauce, sweet sauce is the main ingredient. Tianfu Hao in Baoding Prefecture is famous for its sweet sauce. They use small bamboo baskets (with waxed paper inside), one pound per basket, and the store sells two to three hundred baskets every day. There are many other brand names that are not included, which shows that they are widely used. According to the owner of Tianfu in previous years, the imperial kitchen in the former Qing Palace had to use his sweet sauce to cook the sauced pork elbows and mutton that Empress Dowager Cixi loved to eat. Moreover, the Empress Dowager could tell the difference between genuine and fake in the dishes. Guanglu The temple (the agency in charge of the imperial kitchen) did not dare to be careless at all.

There are also several big soy sauce gardens in Beijing, such as Liubiju and Tianyuan Soybean Garden. They all ask masters from Baoding to teach their craftsmanship. These are also very famous and of high quality. We often eat them, but we still can’t tell the difference between them. . Most roast duck restaurants across the country use Baoding noodle sauce with sweet sauce, which is completely dried with fine flour. The melons and vegetables pickled in sweet sauce are also unique. We eat pheasants stir-fried with shredded pickled melons in Baoding in winter, and the restaurant also cuts the pheasants into pieces. Shredded, stir-fried with pickled cucumbers, fresh, crispy and tender, with a mild flavor. It is really a good dish that is rarely eaten in life. This is why Baoding pickles are not blindly salty, but after being gelatinized, they retain their original flavor. The taste of food. Chinese cuisine originally has a saying of "salty, medium, light and medium fresh", which is the three flavors in cooking. Stir-fried shredded pheasant with pickled cucumbers is said to be a dish that was passed down in the imperial court. Beijing Fangshan (in Beihai Park, prepared by the chef from the imperial kitchen in the past) also sells this dish in winter. There is a kind of shrimp paste in Hebei folk home-cooked dishes. It is made of dried shrimps, diced lean meat, winter bamboo shoots, and diced mushrooms stir-fried with yellow sauce. The yellow sauce is made from sun-dried soybeans. It is also famous in Baoding for its freshness without sweetness. It is very harmonious. Southern taste. The sweetness of Baoding sweet noodle sauce is not as simple as adding sugar to it, but the sweetness naturally exuded through fermentation and special processes. Speaking of noodle sauce, we have to talk about Huaimao pickles, and the "two treasures" of Baoding's three treasures are in Huaimao. Huaimao Pickles Huaimao Pickles was opened in the 10th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1671 AD) and has a history of more than 300 years. In the 29th year of Guangxu's reign, Empress Dowager Cixi passed by Baoding. After tasting Huaimao pickles, she repeatedly praised them and named them "Taiping cuisine". Since then, the value of Huaimao pickles has doubled. At that time, one pound (0.5 kg/kg) of pickles was sold for as high as 1.7 taels of silver (equivalent to about 500 yuan). In 1902, Cao Kun established the Warlord's Office in Baoding. Baoding's industry and commerce prospered, and Huaimao Pickles have also entered their heyday. It has been followed to this day and developed into more than 50 varieties, which are sold all over the world. The predecessor of Huaimao Pickles is Huaimao Sauce Garden, which is located under a big locust tree on the north side of West Street Road, Baoding City. Because the locust tree is close to the front door, it is named "Huaimao" , symbolizing prosperity and prosperity. The current head office of Huaimao Pickles Specialty Store is at No. 612, Yonghua South Street, Baoding (Yonghua store).

Three Treasures of Baoding: Spring is never old

Xuelihong: an annual herb, a variant of mustard, pickled with mustard leaves and stems, it is Xuelihong (also known as Xuelihong) ). The leaves are deeply lobed, with wrinkled edges, and the flowers are bright yellow. The stems and leaves are common vegetables that are usually eaten pickled. Also called Xuelihong. The family belongs to the young stems and leaves of the Brassicaceae plant mustard. It is a variant of mustard greens with leaves in the mustard family. It is also known as mustard greens, potherb greens, spring greens and frost greens. Meridian distribution of nature and flavor, warm in nature, sweet and pungent in taste; human liver, stomach and kidney meridians. Efficacy: It mainly treats detoxification and swelling, appetizing and digestion, warming and promoting Qi. Improve eyesight and relieve diaphragm. It is mainly used to treat sores and carbuncles, swelling and pain in the chest, cough with excessive phlegm, deafness in the ears and eyes, swollen gums, constipation and other diseases.