A cook fashions traditional Hohhot steamed buns at a demonstration event held in the capital city of Inner Mongolia autonomous region on May 28. [Photo by Zhang Wei/Chinanews.com]

Local chefs turned their hands to making traditional Hohhot steamed buns during a demonstration event held in the capital city of Inner Mongolia autonomous region on May 28, drawing the admiration of crowds of locals.

The event was designed to showcase the exacting skills needed to make Hohhot steamed buns.

Chen Minru, an inheritor of the craft, explained that the process of making such buns is very complex.

With their thin wrapping made of dough, Hohhot steamed buns are usually made with fillings of pork, potato, onions and other fresh local vegetables. The unique fillings distinguish the local buns from the varieties in other places in the country.

“I'm the fifth-generation inheritor of the traditional making skills of Hohhot steamed buns and I applied to the local intangible cultural heritage protection institution for inclusion of the skills in the city’s list of intangible cultural heritage in 2018 ,” Chen said.

During the event, Jia Hongwei, head of the local intangible cultural heritage protection institute, announced that the skills behind making the local steamed buns had been recognized as a municipal intangible cultural heritage after months of research and evaluation. In addition, Jia said, the craft was now under protection of the local government.

The skill for fashioning local steamed buns is recognized as a municipal intangible cultural heritage during the event in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on May 28. [Photo by Zhang Wei/Chinanews.con]