A pastry features a cartoon horse wearing a tiger cap and a red fortune bag with the character "福" (fortune). [Photo/Jinhua Media Group]
Baihe Xunwei Creative Food Workshop in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, was abuzz with activity on Feb 3, as staff crafted creative pastries to welcome the Year of the Horse.
The specialty pastry, named Fu Ma (Fortune Horse), features a cute cartoon horse wearing a traditional Chinese tiger cap on top, and a red fortune bag with the character "福" (fortune) on the bottom. These pastries are made without industrial dyes or additives, instead using natural fruit and vegetable juices for color, which gives them a soft, vibrant look.
"We've integrated traditional pastry-making with the cultural essence of the Year of the Horse, and have received over 400 orders, working at full capacity," said Wang Lijuan, a representative inheritor of Qingmingguo pastry-making techniques, an intangible cultural heritage project.
Wang, with over a decade of advertising design experience, emphasized the importance of combining traditional roots with modern aesthetics to create a successful cultural creative product. Her team spent more than three months developing the Fortune Horse, including applying for an appearance design patent.
Using high-quality local ingredients, Wang follows the ancient craft of hand-kneading, rolling, pinching, and carving, ensuring each "horse" is a handcrafted masterpiece.
On Jan 12, Wang presented the Fortune Horse pastries during the recording of the 2026 Spring Festival Comedy Night program by China Media Group, which will air on Chinese New Year's Day and showcase Jinhua's intangible cultural heritage to a national audience.
