Yiwu brown sugar is also called Yiwu Qing because of its bright yellow color with a slight cyan color. It is famous for its soft texture, loose like fine sand, pure and residue-free, sweet and delicious. In the 18th year of the Republic of China, he won the special prize at the West Lake Expo. Yiwu Brown Sugar has obtained the Yiwu Brown Sugar Agricultural Products Geographical Indication Registration Certificate issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and is protected by the National Agricultural Products Geographical Indication. Yiting Town is the main brown sugar producing area in Yiwu and is known as the "Hometown of Brown Sugar". Yiwu brown sugar production skills are now included in the intangible cultural heritage list of Zhejiang Province. In December 2014, Yiwu brown sugar production skills were officially included in the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects.

Yiwu brown sugar has a well-documented and reliable history for more than 700 years. Zhu Danxi (a native of Yiwu), a great medical scientist in the Yuan Dynasty, wrote in his own medical book "Ge Zhi Yu Lun" No. 5 "Must seek medical advice to cure diseases". There are records of using brown sugar to treat diseases in "This Treatise". During the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, Jia Weicheng introduced and promoted the xylose sugar pressing technology, which put Yiwu's sugar cane production on a commercial track and could be sold as bulk commodities. According to the "Genealogy of the Jia Family in Yangchuan", the production of sugar by wood sugar carts in Yiwu began during the Shunzhi Period of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1661). The heyday was in the 1930s and 1940s. In the 35th year of the Republic of China, the area planted with sugarcane was 66,700 acres, producing about 10,000 tons of brown sugar. Before liberation, production fluctuated frequently due to the influence of sales and policies. In 1950, 21,600 acres were planted, in 1954, 57,900 acres, and in 1966, 17,100 acres. In the 1970s, it was about 20,000 acres. In the 1980s, the planting area stabilized at around 30,000 acres. Due to the promotion of improved varieties such as Ganzhuan No. 1 and Sichuan Cane No. 10 and cultivation techniques such as plastic film covering, the output of fresh sugarcane per mu increased from 2000-2500 kilograms in the early days of liberation to more than 5000 kilograms, and the total output increased by 1.5 times. With the development of modern sugar factories, sugar cane is mostly used for machine-made white sugar, and the output of brown sugar decreases accordingly. In 1988, the supply and marketing department purchased 1,525 tons. In addition to supplying the local market, it is mainly sold to Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Anhui and other places. The traditional processing method of Yiwu brown sugar is to use an ox-drawn wooden cart to extract the cane juice and use a wood-burning iron pot to boil the sugar. Because it is not purified, it retains more nutrients and has better nutritional value than white sugar. According to analysis, every 500 grams of brown sugar contains 190 mg of calcium, 9 times that of white sugar; 300 mg of phosphorus and 38.5 mg of iron, both 4 times that of white sugar; 19 times that of glucose; protein and other nutrients needed by the human body. It also contains more trace elements such as manganese and zinc than white sugar. In addition, it also contains carotene, riboflavin and niacin. It has the effects of relaxing muscles and activating blood circulation, dispelling cold and dampness, warming stomach and strengthening body. If mothers eat it, it can restore their vitality and enrich their milk. Patients suffering from acute hepatitis take brown sugar appropriately, which can reduce protein consumption in the body and regenerate liver cells.

Before the 1960s, the tool for pressing sugar water was a cow-pulled sugar cart, that is, a wooden cart powered by cows to squeeze sugar. There are two hardwood rollers, about 60 cm in diameter and 120 cm in length. The upper ends of the rollers are shaped like two jointed gears. A long lever rotates simultaneously under the traction of cattle. Sugar cane is fed into the gap between the two wooden rollers. As the rollers continue to rotate, the sugar stems are crushed, and the sugar water is twisted out and flows into the sugar vat along the water trough. Nowadays, mechanized sugar presses are used to press sugar, but people are still accustomed to calling it "candy". Boiled sugar is also called "fried sugar". The twisted sugar water is poured into a pot and boiled to turn into brown sugar. This is a necessary process for making brown sugar, and it still maintains the traditional craftsmanship.

There are five or six sugar pots lined up in a row, with diameters ranging from large to small. Put the twisted sugar water into the first largest pot and boil it. Boiling sugar water will produce a thick layer of sugar foam. This layer of floating foam must be removed with a bag, otherwise it will affect the quality of the sugar, especially the color of the sugar. If it is not fished out at the right time, it will be ruined, so it is also a technical job. The most important technical activity is Hou Tang.

After scooping out the sugar water, place it in the second, third, and third pots in order. The main thing is to let the water slowly evaporate. When the sugar water evaporates to a certain point, the boiled sugar water turns golden yellow and bubbles in the pot. There were thick and round bubbles. At this time, the sugar master, relying on the observation of his eyes, gradually poured the thick sugar into the small pot at the back. Several workers also kept stirring with long-handled iron spoons. Sugar pan to prevent thick sugar from scorching the bottom of the pan. When all the thick syrup is poured into the last pot, the sugar master dips a little sugar with his index finger, tastes it, and checks to see if it's ready. Then he scoops the hot syrup into a rectangular wooden trough. Bed, made into fine brown sugar.