These nostalgic ice creams in Changsha have been a hit for over 20 years.

Release date:

2024-07-16

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In summer, Changsha burns with fiery passion, as if even the sun warmly embraces everyone. The sweltering heat of the season seems always to awaken sweet flavors long buried in memory; names like “old popsicle,” “traditional mung bean dessert,” “glutinous rice cake,” and “Shentong cocoa” instantly transport us back to a time that was simple yet pure. More than mere refreshment against the heat, these treats were the stars of our childhood stories.

SUMMER

The national icon of the ice cream world: [Qiu’s Classic Popsicle]

Old-fashioned popsicles are the quintessential symbol of ice cream, with flavors that appeal to young and old alike. In Changsha during the 1970s and 80s, refrigerators and air conditioners were not yet common, and even the summer breeze carried a hint of heat. Back then, the most delightful sound was the street vendor’s call of “Popsicles—!”—the opening salvo of summer. Nestled in a white insulated box on the back seat of a bicycle were handmade popsicles, a cherished memory of cool refreshment from those days.

After the 1990s, with the widespread adoption of refrigerators, Mr. Qiu’s Old Popsicle Made with simple ingredients like milk, white sugar, and water, this has become one of the most popular ice cream flavors. Its cool, pure white-sugar taste delivers sweetness to the fullest; afterward, it’s just like eating ice—so icy that your teeth can’t help but chatter, instantly banishing the summer heat.

“Kids from poor families lick it up, while kids from rich families bite into it,” Back then, with an average monthly wage of less than 600 yuan, a single Qiu’s Old Ice Popsicle was a rare delicacy. I remember as a child, the popsicles always melted faster than we could eat them, leaving our little hands and corners of our mouths sticky with syrup. That cool sweetness, carried on the summer breeze, became one of the most unforgettable memories of my childhood. Whenever a popsicle slipped from my grasp and fell to the ground, the sense of loss still tugs at my heart today, as if I’d lost a precious piece of time.

SUMMER

Changsha Specialty: Qiu’s Glutinous Rice Cakes

Changsha, a city renowned for its cuisine, is beloved by many for its soft, glutinous, and sweet traditional snack known as tangyou baba. Among its specialties, Changsha’s unique “frozen tangyou baba” stands out as a distinctive local delicacy. In 2009, Xuedi drew inspiration from tangyou baba to pioneer this creation in the Central China region. “Glutinous rice cake” "ice cream, With its unique flavor and creativity, it has become a new hallmark of Changsha. Held in the hand, it’s about the size of a steamed bun, yet anyone who’s tasted it knows just how delicious it is. Its outer layer is a soft glutinous rice cake, dusted with fragrant glutinous rice flour. Inside lies a generous scoop of ice cream—sweet and creamy—that melts in your mouth; when you bite into it together with the rice cake, It has a rich texture and is not greasy at all.

SUMMER

Childhood Idol 【Qiu Family Prodigy Coco】

The Coco ice cream cone, a real childhood favorite, is beloved for its incredible variety of flavors—honeydew melon, taro, chocolate, and strawberry. With just a few coins in your pocket, you could indulge in two flavors at once. But what’s truly irresistible isn’t the ice cream on top; it’s the cocoa‑coated wafer at the bottom. Every bite delivers a rich, crunchy chocolatey burst that’s simply impossible to resist.

SUMMER

The Joy of Plump Red Bean Grains [Qiu’s Secret-Recipe Red Beans]

The secret‑recipe red bean dessert was a real revelation from the first bite. Each plump bean looks like a carefully chosen gem, set within a crisp icy shell—truly a work of art. With one bite, the cool crunch gives way to the sweet, tender flavor of the beans, melting slowly in your mouth for a refreshingly satisfying experience that has won over countless devoted fans.

SUMMER

Made with genuine, high-quality ingredients: [Qiu’s Traditional Mung Beans]

Authentic old‑school Changsha mung bean popsicles—take one bite, and your mouth is instantly filled with rich mung bean flavor! Qiu’s traditional mung beans are big, hefty, and true to tradition. But their “heaviness” also means they don’t melt easily. After playing ourselves silly and getting parched, we’d buy one and just sink our teeth into it—often ending up with a numbing chill in our head and a painful tongue. Yet it’s precisely that icy intensity that makes them so utterly satisfying!

These nostalgic ice creams have been a hit for over 20 years; in those days when choices were limited, these treats , they are not just a great way to beat the heat; they are a shared memory for the people of Changsha and an integral part of the city’s culture. In this rapidly changing era, Qiu’s Ice Cream remains true to its simplicity and authenticity, crafting affordable classics with genuine ingredients and embedding the authentic old‑world flavor deep in its very essence. These are more than just ice cream—they are the taste of childhood, the sweetness of cherished memories. No matter how the world evolves, these flavors always bring us back to that simple, pure summer, warming our hearts along the way.

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