Young Chinese artist wows netizens with exquisite artworks made from sugar syrup

Photo shows a kingfisher-shaped artwork made from sugar syrup by a Chinese sugar artist named Zhang Bo. (yangtse.com/courtesy of Zhang Bo)

Zhang Bo, a 27-year-old Chinese sugar artist, has amazed netizens with magnificent sugar sculptures in the shapes of various animals, figures, and fruits, among other things.

As a teenager, Zhang discovered his passion for sugar art when he encountered intricate sugar art pieces at a hotel in his hometown of Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Enthralled by the craftsmanship, he embarked on a 30-hour train journey to southwest China's Yunnan Province to study the art under a master.

Through painstaking efforts and great perseverance, he finally mastered relevant skills and has grown into a highly skilled sugar artist with his own style.

Zhang Bo, a 27-year-old Chinese sugar artist, poses for a photo with one of his sugar sculpture artworks. (yangtse.com/courtesy of Zhang Bo)

During this period, he specifically studied color composition, sculpture, figurine making, and more to inspire and further improve his skills.

Realistic shapes, rich colors, and a preference for Chinese-style themes characterize his sugar artworks .

"I am from Xi'an, a city with a rich historical background as an ancient capital of 13 dynasties. I grew up in a profound historical atmosphere, so I really like elements of ancient Chinese culture," Zhang said.

Over the past 13 years since his first encounter with sugar art, Zhang has created more than 1,000 sugar art pieces. He has shared some of them on short video-sharing platforms and received overwhelming praise from Internet users.

The works he showcased online range from sugar-made flying birds to goldfish and crabs in the water, and even mythological figures like Sun Wukong, the legendary Monkey King from classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West".

Zhang Bo, a 27-year-old Chinese sugar artist, creates a sugar sculpture artwork featuring Sun Wukong, the iconic figure from the classic Chinese mythological novel "Journey to the West". (yangtse.com/courtesy of Zhang Bo)

Each of the art pieces is lifelike and exquisite. One of the artworks in the shape of a kingfisher, for instance, is so intricately carved that even the fine down on its bright blue feathers on the back is clearly visible.

"The sugar feathers attached to this sugar kingfisher number in the hundreds, but that's not the most I've done. I previously made a sugar peacock with over a thousand feathers attached," Zhang told reporters.

Netizens have inundated the comment section of his videos with exclamations of praise and admiration, marveling at the expertly crafted sugar artworks with comments such as "These sugar creations are so lifelike and skillfully crafted," "How could anyone bear to consume such beauty? It's too exquisite to be eaten," and "Please don't put it for sale, or my son might bankrupt me"...

While Zhang enjoys sharing his works with netizens by creating short videos, he doesn't want to be an Internet celebrity who only wants to grab attention.

Photo shows a strawberry-shaped artwork made from sugar syrup by a Chinese sugar artist named Zhang Bo. (yangtse.com/courtesy of Zhang Bo)

Zhang once created a "golden" sugar art series by adding golden powder to turn the sugar into a golden color, making shapes like golden corn, strawberries, and crabs.

This series of works became popular online in an instant, accumulating 60 to 70 million views and expanding Zhang's fan base by over 100,000 within about a month.

However, he didn't continue creating works of the series, because he felt they are not his ultimate goal.

"If I continue to make such works, I might become an Internet celebrity, but I could also suddenly lose attention. What I want to persist in is what I truly love. For over a decade, I have been pursuing more exquisite artistic expression, and I am willing to keep at it for the rest of my life," he told reporters.

Today, Zhang runs his own studio where he teaches the methods of sugar art creation. His students include young people aspiring to become sugar artists and young mothers interested in this craft.

Speaking of his future plans, Zhang said he hopes to create even better sugar art pieces and wants more people to understand this craft.

Sugar art is a craft completely different from the fondant works, which are commonly seen online nowadays, according to Zhang.

Photo shows a peacock-shaped artwork made from sugar syrup by a Chinese sugar artist named Zhang Bo. (yangtse.com/courtesy of Zhang Bo)

"Both sugar art and fondant art belong to the category of Western pastry decoration crafts, but the materials and techniques are different, and in comparison, sugar art may be more challenging," Zhang said.

To shape the material, the syrup needs to be heated to above 165 degrees Celsius during the creation process, and to showcase the gloss of the sugar, it needs to be heated to above 170 degrees Celsius, while fondant works can be handled at room temperature, Zhang explained.

The colored parts are created with edible pigments, so the sugar art pieces are all edible, although no one would actually eat them, Zhang said.

Since the current techniques have solved the issue of preservation, sugar art can be displayed in a glass dome for a long time, he noted.

It's not difficult for ordinary people to start learning sugar art, according to Zhang. With a sugar art lamp, an induction cooker for heating and boiling sugar, and a few shaping tools, people can begin the learning process at home, he said.