Huize Shuishiqiao Comprehensive Farmers’ Market

On the south side of Dongwai Street in Huize County, the Shuishiqiao Farmers’ Market stands as a multi-level concrete structure of at least two floors. Its numbered stalls organize daily commerce into zones of fresh meat, poultry, seafood, local produce, processed grains, apparel, and hardware.

Step inside, and the air carries the scent of roasted yellow soybeans and the steam of sticky rice.Local artisans continue to prepare handmade bean-flour rice cakes using traditional techniques. They use a century-old stone mortar, where a heavy wooden pestle thuds rhythmically to crush the grains. Nearby, pan-fried baojiang tofu sizzles on hot copper plates.

This modern market, fully operational by August 2004, sits on ground layered with memory. The cold iron of the modern stalls and the warm aroma of heritage foods exist side by side, connecting wartime survival to daily sustenance.