In the early years of the Republic of China, Ding Kaitai, the founder of "Ding Yuanxing", opened the first cake shop in Qiaodun Town. When he baked a batch of Chaozhou-style moon cakes in a cramped cake workshop, he should have never imagined that Ding Yuanxing's moon cakes could sell tens of thousands in one day a hundred years later.

"Ding Yuanxing" moon cakes have been selling very well. After the founding of New China, they were merged into the Bridge Pier Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and it was not until the 198s that they returned to the hands of the second generation descendant Ding Jinbang.

Ding Jinbang felt indescribable excitement and joy when he was reunited with his ancestral family business. He inherited the exquisite production technology of his ancestors and improved it. Not only was he busy opening a shop, but sometimes he went to distant towns and villages to sell mooncakes. In this way, "Ding Yuanxing" moon cakes spread their reputation further by quality. On the eve of Mid-Autumn Festival, there is often a long queue in front of his shop. In the 199s, Ding Jinbang registered and established "Ding Yuanxing Food Factory" in order to promote the mooncakes on piers to a larger market, and also registered the old brand of "Ding Yuanxing". Nowadays, the signboard of "Ding Yuanxing" has spread to Ding Xueguan, the third generation of Ding Family. The old shop "Ding Yuanxing" has also changed its appearance and become Wenzhou Ding Yuanxing Food Co., Ltd., and last year it introduced a tunnel oven with a value of more than 3, yuan. The efficiency of making cakes has increased by 5 times compared with the past.

However, Ding Xueguan has always stressed that the taste of moon cakes is basically the "original flavor" of a hundred years ago, except for meeting the needs of modern people to pay attention to health, with less sugar and less oil. In addition, the shape of "Ding Yuanxing" moon cake still maintains a big "round face" covered with sesame seeds, and the maximum size is about 82 grams. Compared with all kinds of moon cakes with various colors today, its inconspicuous appearance will not hide its authentic taste, kindness in materials and sincerity in price, so it is favored by consumers.

"Spread branches and spread leaves everywhere"

"Tracing the roots of moon cakes on piers should be a kind of Chaozhou moon cakes, but after the improvement of my grandfather's generation and the development of so many years, it has already become its own." Ding Xueguan said.

It is understood that the traditional fillings of bridge pier moon cakes are ridged meat, peanuts, candied winter melon, etc., which are baked with a bottom fire as high as 28 degrees Celsius. The temperature in the center of the freshly baked moon cakes can reach 17 degrees Celsius, and the baked moon cakes are crispy in skin and smooth in filling. The key to their deliciousness lies in the fact that the crispy skin on the outer layer and rich sesame seeds absorb the oil spilled from the filling, so they are fat but not greasy and fragrant.

Nowadays, mooncake shops of various font sizes are scattered in Qiaodun Town. You can see the mooncake shops of Qiaodun, such as Chen Fuxing, Chen Yucheng and Wu Yuyuan, in the same street with Ding Yuanxing. And its operators also have some connections with Ding Kaitai, Chen Fuxing and others. They are either disciples or apprentices when they are studying art. Therefore, although there are some differences in materials, the taste of mooncakes on piers is basically the same.

According to Zhang Jiayou, deputy mayor of Qiaodun Town, there are 29 shops making and selling mooncakes on Qiaodun Town at present, with an annual output value of more than 15 million yuan. Especially in the month before Mid-Autumn Festival, many consumers drive all the way to buy mooncakes, and many local shops have to hire people to make cakes, and the sales are very hot.

Many bridge pier people have started cake shops all over the country with their cake-making skills. It is understood that there are more than 12 shops selling bridge pier moon cakes in Qiaopier Town, which are scattered in counties and some neighboring provinces and cities in our city. The total sales of all cake shops can reach more than 8 million yuan a year. In addition, through the cooperation with the postal service and expanding the sales channels, the moon cakes on the bridge piers have been sold to Russia, the United States and other countries.

The future of mooncakes on piers

"According to the current achievements, mooncakes on piers can be regarded as an industry." Zhang Jiayou said: "We still want to set some norms and continue to make this industry bigger."