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Tanghua

Also known as 糖画 · hot sugar drawing

Tanghua is the Chinese street art of drawing with hot syrup. The maker lets a thin thread of melted sugar run from a small ladle onto a cold stone slab, tracing the outline of a flower, bird or animal and filling it with swirls and zigzags, then lifts the cooled figure on a bamboo stick.

Play the previewAbout this tradition
Tanghua: photograph by LAU 3420 LUONG
Photo: LAU 3420 LUONG, CC0, source on Wikimedia Commons
Tanghua: the game in attract modeLive previewPlay

Runs in your browser, works offline once loaded.

How to play

  1. Pick a colour of sugar and a stroke from the strip under the slab: waves, curls, zigzags, leaves, rings and drops.
  2. Tap a square to lay the stroke: its mirror image appears on the other side of the figure, as in a symmetrical drawing.
  3. Copy the small figure above the slab, then press Check.
Rules at a glance
  • The slab is mirrored left to right, so every figure has two matching halves.
  • A square scores only when its stroke and its shade of sugar both match the figure.
  • Laying the same stroke and shade again, or using the eraser, clears the square.
  • Three stars need a near-perfect copy; undo and clear are free.

About the tradition

Sugar drawing is known from Sichuan and many other parts of China, where street makers still draw figures for passers-by; it is recognised as intangible cultural heritage in several provinces.

Origins

A living tradition passed from person to person; it is not tied to a single dated origin. It belongs to the cultural world of China.

Credits

Sources

Get the app

Tanghua is one of 8 craft designs in the Craft Designs of the World app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Submitted to the App Store and Google Play; in review. Store links appear here the day it goes live. One app, many traditions, no account needed.

See all 8 craft designs in the app

In review on theApp StoreIn review on theGoogle Play

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