Morning market gives a taste of tradition

From Feb 11 to 17, the market welcomed a whopping 65,000 visitors. This nearly 200-year-old market has become a hot spot for winter tourism, one of the must-visit places for anyone coming to Shenyang.

According to the "2024 Spring Festival Travel Forecast Report" released by Baidu Maps and others, Xiaoheyan in Shenyang, along with markets like the Hongzhuan morning market in Harbin and the Lingnan Flower Market in Guangzhou, made it onto the list of the 10 most popular markets nationwide during the 2024 Spring Festival. It ranked sixth.

Legend has it that the Xiaoheyan morning market started with a few farmers gathering to sell their homegrown vegetables and fruits. Xiaoheyan means little river's bank, as it's located next to the Nanyun River. It used to be quiet in winter, although bustling in spring, summer and autumn. But now, with tens of thousands of people flooding in daily, stall owners are busier than ever.

In one corner of the morning market, a stall selling candied haws was a hive of activity. In less than half an hour, Cao Xiaoxia and her husband had already sold dozens of skewers. The couple had clear roles: her husband skewered the haws and made the treats, while she handled sales.

Their stall sold a variety of traditional candied haws — round ones, flat ones, and even yam and bean skewers. Additionally, they made strawberry and grape skewers since it was strawberry season. All the treats were freshly made, with only the haws skewered beforehand, while the rest were skewered on-site and coated with melted sugar.

As the syrup bubbled just right in the pot, Cao's husband quickly rotated each skewer, then laid them out to cool. In the cold weather, the syrup would quickly coat the haws and solidify into a sweet shell. In just a couple of minutes, Cao's husband had already made 10 skewers.