Xingtai Longtian Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd.: The Gradually Vanishing Ancient Sugar-Making Technique

Shuanglong Dam—the busiest time of year arrives in the depths of winter, when everyone who has gone out to work returns home. The few sugar mills scattered throughout the village all start operating simultaneously. For 24 hours a day, the entire village is filled with the sweet aroma of sugarcane.

Sugar production involved a clear division of labor: there were cane-cutters, sugar-extraction masters, sugar-boiling artisans, firemen—and also women who specialized in wrapping and bundling the sugar using dried sugarcane leaves. Day and night, they worked tirelessly—crushing the cane, refining the sugar, and wrapping it into neat bundles. Each person was fully dedicated to their specific task, performing their duties with utmost concentration. In the fields, workers swung their sickles, swiftly cutting down the sugarcane; then they bent low, tying the stalks into bundles and securing them onto horseback for transport back to the sugar mill. Some of the horses knew the way perfectly well—just load up the sugar onto their backs, and they’d trot right back home on their own.