Famous Local Products

Baoding Iron Balls Baoding Iron Balls,also known as fitness balls,are traditional folk handicrafts in Baoding.Originally,they were only used for amusement or protection among people.In the Ming Dynasty,ovens specially used to make iron balls appeared.The popularity of iron balls attracted the attention of the imperial court,which began to ask for tributes from the people.Blacksmiths with special skills were called into the palace to make iron balls specially for the royal families,nobles and dignitaries.Playing with iron balls is also a popular sport for people of Baoding.Among the socalled“three treasures of Baoding,iron balls,sauce,and Ceylon Ardisia,”iron balls are the first.Middle-aged and elderly people in Baoding especially like to play with iron balls.They usually play with two iron balls in one hand to relax their muscles and keep fit.

Huaimao Pickle Huaimao Pickle is a small dish of vegetables pickled with a unique sweet sauce of Baoding.Baoding Huaimao Sauce Shop was opened in 1671.The sauce with full natural fermentation,long fermentation cycle and high sugar content was developed with high-quality materials and the water from Yimu Spring of Baoding.Because of its sweet taste,people call it sweet sauce.Huaimao Sauce Shop selects kohlrabi,radishes,lettuces,cucumbers,dilu,water chestnuts,garlic,Ceylon ardisia,chili pepper,walnut kernel,peanuts and almonds produced in Baoding and made pickles with sweet sauce.In 1903,Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu went to Baoding after visiting the Western Qing Tombs.Yuan Shih-kai,governor of Zhili Province,presented Huaimao pickles to Cixi when she was having porridge.Cixi highly praised them after tasting.Hoping that the world would be in peace after returning to Beijing,Cixi named the dish the“Pickle of Peace.”From then on,Huaimao pickles became famous.In 2005,the brand Huaimao Pickles was awarded the honorary title of“Time-honored Brand of China”by the Ministry of Commerce.

Wangdu Chili Pepper People in plain counties such as Boye,Gaoyang and Qingyuan in Baoding are used to planting chili pepper,but the planting scale is limited.It is Wangdu that really makes chili pepper into an industry and has obtained remarkable economic benefits.Due to the fertile soil containing high content of trace elements in Wangdu,the people there have cultivated the unique Wangdu Horn-like Chili Pepper after screening and purification by generations.Wangdu Horn-like Chili Pepper,looking like a horn,features deep red color,thick skin,high oil content and moderate spicy taste.Wangdu has been planting chili pepper for more than 400 years,and the chili pepper products have been well-known at home and abroad,so Wangdu is also known as one of the“Three Capitals of Chili Pepper”in China.

Lixian Yam Lu You,a poet of the Song Dynasty,said in one poem that:“I always live by the lake with cogon grass,sometimes I would enjoy village wine with Shanyao.”“Shanyao”in Lu You’s poem is just yam,which is called“Ma Shanyao”in Lixian,Anguo,Boye and Qingyuan.This area has great climate and soil conditions suitable for planting yam,and Lixian,in particular,has introduced yam to the international market.The unique soil structure,suitable light and heat conditions and traditional production processes of Lixian County have provided Lixian Yam with unique quality.Today,Lixian Yam has become an industry and Lixian County has formed a characteristic industry of“Ma shanyao”with Dayang Group as the leader and Qudi National Standardization Demonstration Zone as the base.The well-known brands of yam,such as“Jiaojiao”and“Lvshen,”have been selected as“Chinese Products of Geographical Indication.”

Sweet Strawberry,the queen of fruits What is“sweet red fruit with black dots?”The answer is strawberry.Baoding has both mountains and plains,which is suitable for the growth of strawberries.Shunping,Xushui,Quyang,Mancheng,Laishui and some other places have all achieved success in strawberry planting.In Mancheng County,in particular,strawberry planting has become an important pillar industry.Mancheng County,as a“National Production Base of High-quality Strawberries,”enjoys the reputation of“hometown of strawberries.”