Farmers harvest sugarcanes in Qingshi town of Changshan, Zhejiang province. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Nowadays, experienced farmers in Changshan county, Zhejiang province still stick to the traditional techniques of making brown sugar, despite modern machines seemingly being able to offer more convenience.

Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is considered to have a high medicinal value.

The middle of November to February is the busiest time in a year for sugar making in Qingshi town of Changshan.

The traditional making process of brown sugar requires three workers to take care of seven big pots at the same time. They need to fix their eyes on the boiling syrup and keep stirring until it turns thick and brown.

Currently, there are around 1.6 hectares of sugarcane plantation in Qingshi town, which provide raw materials for over 100 metric tons of brown sugar every year.

A worker ladles syrup into a wooden container in Qingshi town of Changshan, Zhejiang province. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

The caked brown sugar [Photo/zjol.com.cn]