TaoQi peach ice cream, source: UMart
In the past few years, local Asian markets in California have been carrying a wider variety of Chinese ice pops (aka, popsicles, ice bars). These imported popsicles seem much more popular than ice cream pints, judging from what’s available in the freezer aisles. The flavors (e.g., grape green tea & cheese, peach & oolong, taro, hawthorn, grass jelly, mango sago pomelo, kumquat lemon, rose yogurt) and shapes of these imported popsicles are so intriguing. For example, TaoQi peach ice cream looks like Chinese peaches, and it’s gone viral on TikTok. The peach-shaped ice cream is just the tip of the iceberg. Some Chinese popsicles are shaped like animals, buildings, flowers, people, and landmarks.
The creative Chinese popsicle trend started in 2017, when Beijing Yuyuantan Park introduced popsicles molded into the shape of cherry blossoms. Other cultural sites in China soon followed with their own custom popsicles, including the Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, West Lake, Yueyang Tower, Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, etc. Sales have boomed among tourists and locals, especially on hot days when the popsicles often sell out. Interestingly, the popsicles encourage tourism and promote Chinese culture. The treats are inexpensive and impressive-looking. We love that they’re often sold individually.
Images of these popsicles alongside their real-life inspirations flooded Chinese social media platforms. Sharing photos of these unique treats has become a way for people to showcase that they’re keeping up with the latest trends and visiting popular places.
The idea has spread to Australia, where Artiscle makes pops shaped like the Sydney Opera House and sells them by the Opera House. They’ve also made pops shaped like other Australian landmarks.
We’ve seen imported Chinese landmark popsicles from Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum for sale in Australia, Canada, and the United States.
The popsicle trend reminds us of the ubiquity of locally-flavored soft serve ice cream in Japan. Tying it back to froyo, we love a good local froyo flavor. But can we become more creative about how it’s presented?
